


Jiji Jinn The Genie

by AstroAaron



Category: Original Work
Genre: College, Djinni & Genies, F/F, F/M, Fish out of Water, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, Magic, Modern Era, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Mythology References, Pansexual Character, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23211334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroAaron/pseuds/AstroAaron
Summary: After being trapped in a lamp for 1,000 years, a Jinn named Jiji now finds herself in the human world. Specifically southern California. Her first instinct is to fulfill her job as a genie. Including, but not limited to, granting 300 wishes to the person who released her. However, the owner of the lamp, Dante Barrett, is married, has a stable job, and content life. So, what's a Genie to do?Well, the world's changed quite a lot in 1,000 years. So while Jiji occasionally grants a wish for the couple, there are social norms and a massive amount of tech for her to learn about. As well as cute boys and girls to flirt with.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Introductions are in order

Tatiana Barrett was still setting up her recording equipment when she heard a grunt. It wasn’t pained, like hitting your knee against furniture. It sounded more annoyed, and the volume wasn’t discrete. The tone of it did remind her of her wife, who said she was leaving for work almost ten minutes ago. Now, Tatiana figured it could only be her spouse seeing as there were only two keys to the house, and one was on her desk connected to a UFO keychain.

One quick trip down the hall and her theory was confirmed. The sight of her wife frantically going through papers and folders wasn’t anything new. But, this was the first time Dante Barrett ever said, ‘I’m leaving for work’ and then didn’t.

“Morning Professor,” she said in a coy manner. Tatiana leaned against the open door watching her continue to search desk drawers.

“Hey sweetie,” Dante said in a hurry. “Have you seen my ‘How To Spot A Fake’ reference?”

Tatiana began scanning over the disorganized files by the laptop. Dante was a minute away from sweating and didn’t seem to be interested in reading the actual papers she was scattering about.

Raising a brow, “You don’t have that on a drive?”

“It’s not a file,” Dante huffed. “It’s a gold oil lamp.” She moved to the closet, “Like, a genie lamp. Only it’s fake.”

Tatiana dropped the papers so she had room to put her hands on her hips.

“You got me looking around for something you bought at the dollar store?”

“No!” Dante smirked at her wife, passing her on the way toward the storage containers in front of the closet. “I got it from the museum. Some idiots tried to pawn off some counterfeit stuff.” She had begun opening the unopened plastic containers, “Miss Sobeck let me borrow one of them for my lecture today. And-”

Tatiana finished, “You’re gonna need it anyway.” She neatly collected the papers. “Last place you saw it?”

“Downstairs, in the kitchen.” Dante left the folded clothes and shoes not finding what she needed. “On the counter.”

Tatiana slowly turned her head back toward Dante. Tatiana’s glance, as Dante could see from the corner of her eye, was unimpressed.

The professor sighed, “It wasn’t there, and you didn't even know I had it until now.”

Dante had now broken into a sweat. She did try to wipe it away with her palm, but she did so while moving the desk to look behind it. Something she could’ve done by bending a bit to look underneath.

“Babe, you’re panicking,” Tatiana informed.

Dante had her whole head inside a drawer she had already checked. 

“No I’m not!” Dante bellowed. 

Tatiana patted her lover’s back, guiding the professor out of the furniture and into the chair.

“Babe,” Tatiana calmly said, “chill for a minute.” She kissed her wife’s cheek and massaged Dante’s shoulder, “I’ll go downstairs and check again. We’ll find it. Okay? You’re gonna be fine.”

Dante smiled, and nodded. She kissed her wife’s hand as a thank you. Then, she gave Tatiana a peck on the lips, just because.

“I’ll be right back.”

The women’s eyes locked onto one another’s while Tatiana headed toward the door. Their gazes were flirts without words.

Dante saw Tatiana. This healthy black woman who had the most adorable little afro puffs. Her short stature and star tattoos on her arm were often the first things people noticed. Instead, Dante noticed how her nose scrunches when she laughs.

Tatiana saw Dante. A dark-skinned and petite woman who revealed the cutest dimples when she smiled. Her pixie cut hair made her look younger than she actually was. The way she sat with her legs crisscrossed despite being on a chair added to that.

Tatiana smiled, staring so wistfully at her. She didn't even realize the wall was there until she bumped into it.

“Oh my God!” Dante howled.

Fighting her own swelling urge to laugh, “Shut up!”

Tatiana continued down the hall to the stairs. It was mondain. Nothing worth noting. They were stairs in a two-floor house after all. The only thing that had her direct attention was the faint sound of sizzling.

She got to the first floor, turned the corner, and immediately spotted the lamp on the kitchen counter by the stove. It was gold in color but didn’t seem to have any sort of polish or hard texture. The pink gems around the pouring hole and the ‘sapphires’ around the base did help to make it seem like a treasure, as did the chain linking the top of the handle to the lid. But, even as someone without an archeology degree, Tatiana could see it was a fake.

What was real, was the five-foot-tall, brown-haired, brown-skinned woman sauteing some steak with Tatiana’s favorite skillet. She seemed too focused on cooking the meal to even notice Mrs. Barrett. Mrs. Barrett was still processing that there was some random kid in her house. 

How did she get in? None of the windows were open or broken. Dante has one key and Tatiana had the other. So, did Dante let her in? She seemed to be making herself comfortable. Then again, stupidity was a very common drug. 

Tatiana sent a text to Dante. It was a picture of a young, toned woman with a ponytail wearing a pink vest and gold jewelry pouring sauce on a steak from an oil lamp.

‘Who is this cutlery bitch?’ Tatiana texted.

Dante answered the question with another question.

‘Did you unpack the bat yet?’

“Morning!” The mystery woman greeted with a smile. 

She appeared to be Middle Eastern and Tatiana figured her to be in her early twenties. That being a decade younger than herself and Dante. Her skin carried no wrinkles or scars or any sign of imperfections. 

The next thing Tatiana noticed facing this person was the design of her vest. Instead of buttons or a zipper connecting the sides, there was a crisscrossing string. It did almost nothing to cover her midriff or the center of her chest. 

“Are you hungry,” the burglar asked. “I made this for Mistress Barrett, but I can make another if you want one.”

Tatiana took her earrings out, “Okay! You Know What!?”

She started stomping across the carpet toward the intruder impersonating a cook, but suddenly stopped when her feet hit the kitchen tiles. Tatiana’s voice dropped to a breathless whisper. “What the hell?”

The design of the kitchen had a bar acting as a border between the kitchen and living room. So, Tatiana couldn’t see that the woman had no legs. Mind you, not in a sense of being disabled. Beyond the woman’s blue belt wasn’t her hips. Instead, a concentrated smoke took form originating from the spout of the lamp. It was a mix of the colors, blue, pink, and yellow, shifting around like a forming cloud but never changing in size.

The mystic being crossed her arms and raised one of her straight eyebrows. She scrunched her round nose and pursed her bow-shaped lips in annoyance at Tatiana’s reaction.

“Wow, that was rude.” The genie leaned forward a bit. “You never seen a genie before?”

Before Tatiana could come up with any approach, footsteps were heard. They were loud and charging down the stairs. Tatiana’s eyes broke from the impossible to her small wife, storming in with an aluminum bat in hand.

Dante shouted, “Batter up!” She laid eyes on the genie, and froze in her tracks. Screaming, “WHAT THE HELL!?”

The genie had hearts in her eyes seeing the archeologist. Not in a figurative sense. No. Her brown orbs had physically morphed into pink valentines. 

The scream Dante had let out didn’t even phase her. At that moment, Tatiana, who was backing away in confusion while shielding her lover, didn’t even exist. There was no one else in the room. Just the woman who she owed.

Cheering, “Mistress! You’re awake!”

The genie sharply inhaled before holding her breath. Suddenly, legs started inflating from her waist like a pair of balloons. When ‘full’, her legs hit the floor, just as solid as the rest of her. Blue Dhoti pants with golden sparkles kept her decent in front of the couple.

The Barretts’ jaws dropped. Not literally to the floor like the bat. However, the laws of physics had just been destroyed right in front of them on three separate occasions. So it wouldn’t surprise either of them if their jaws did.

The genie got on one knee, and bowed her head.

“My name is Jiji. As a Jinn, I was imprisoned inside of this lamp. One-thousand years later, you placed your bare hands on it, thus, releasing me. For freeing me, I am bound to you, Dante Barrett. 300 wishes, and my servitude as a genie, are yours.”

She hopped back to a standing position.

“So!” Jiji snapped her fingers and into existence poofed a clipboard and a quill. The items floated in the air with the feather moving across a paper to the stroke of Jiji’s finger. “Now that my contractually obligated introduction is out of the way, you want some steak?” She snapped her fingers again and the clipboard faded away in a puff of glittering gold. In its place was the steak from the skillet, now presented on a golden plate. “I made it myself! I read that you Americans like that!”

Jiji flung her finger toward Dante and the plate flew in her direction. The professor gingerly held her hands out as the steak carefully set in her grasp. 

Dante looked at her wife, almost in a panic. She couldn’t help but try to explain herself.

“I swear to God, I thought the lamp was fake.”

Tatiana sat down on the barstool. She was still trying to comprehend that there was an actual magical creature in her house flirting with her wife.

“No shit, babe.”

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> artwork by @34choco on tumblr


	2. She’s magic, of course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dante tries to deal with the fact that Jiji is magic.

A lone man was jogging his way toward a room at the end of a hall. His steps echoed against the tiles and his messenger bag was swaying with him. He wasn’t trying to get away from anything. The student just wanted to make absolutely sure that he wasn’t tardy on his first day of college. 

“Sorry I’m late,” he said entering the class. 

A class of university freshmen was all sitting down in two rows of booths keeping themselves occupied. Some were talking amongst themselves, as friends tend to do. Others were on their phones, as most people in their early twenties tend to be. Honestly, most of the students were checking their social media. 

The young man saw that no eyes were on him, and quickly found a seat before that changed. He scootched into an end booth and began taking his tablet out. His arms were moving a little stiff after the improv workout, but he managed to prop up the device just fine. 

Now it was time to double-check some things. He had his stylis. His water bottle was still clipped to the side of his bag. His phone was on silent. He was all set for class.

There was only one thing missing. The teacher. 

!Meanwhile, at the Barrett house!

Professor Dante Barrett was in the middle of pacing back and forth in the living room. Her fingers twiddled with each other and her eyes stayed down. Her steps were quick, and her words were rapid.

“Ok! So genies are real! Which means magic is real!” Dante flung her arms up. Scoffing, “Of course I know magic is real! I just saw it!” She continued on, “But if magic is real, then what else is real?! Vampires? Are the people who obsess over bigfoot actually right? Are street performers just pixies or some shit?” 

Dante stopped moving to ask Jiji, “Are pixies real?!”

Jiji just shrugged as she continued to innocently rock side to side on the barstool. She did let out a little muffled noise that sounded like an ‘I don know’ while doing so. She was also giving Dante a warm smile while their eyes met. 

“How is this real?!” Dante shouted, “How are you real?!”

Jiji tapped her heel against the stool. A blue mist shot from the impact, traveling around the seat in a spiral until it was completely engulfed. Once it was, the smokey veil dropped like a curtain revealing a brand new bar stool. An active blue cloud in the shape of a column. 

Tatiana, sitting next to Jiji on the counter, lightly swung her leg at the seat. Her foot phased right through the cloud with mist trailing off her toes only to rubberband back in place. The sitting genie wasn’t even moved or affected by the brief loss of mass. She even crossed her legs after the experiment, showing off more of the cloud’s sturdiness. 

Jiji simply answered the woman with one word.

“Magic.”

Dante sharply inhaled. Her closed hands were vibrating and her brown eyes bulging. She then stuck both of her index fingers up and gulped.

“Uhm, can you,” she stammered, “stop breaking reality for...1 minute? Please?”

Jiji popped a happy salute, “As you command, Mistress!” 

“And my name is Dante,” she halfheartedly corrected.

Sincerely, “As you command, Mistress Dante.” 

Dante’s lip twitched. A vein on her forehead could be seen. She needed to change the subject.

“Babe,” Dante looked to her wife. 

Tatiana was swinging her legs while eating the sauteed steak. Her smile only went away when chewing. It had only been a few minutes, but she was already on her last piece.

“Why aren’t you panicking?!” Dante asked.

Tatiana swallowed and stated, “Girl, I’ve been telling you for years aliens were real.” 

Jiji looked at Tatiana with a rumpled gaze. Lips open just a tad, but not saying anything. 

Tatiana rolled her eyes while stabbing another cut, “Okay, so this ain’t one for one, but still. It isn’t exactly a surprise for me.” She then took a bite and shrugged, “It kind of is. But, you know what I mean.” 

“Aw!” Jiji swooned. Her hands clasped together in a slow and factious way, “You believe in me?” She puckered her lips and shimmied her shoulders. “Aren’t you just a cutie-pie?” 

Tatiana’s brow dropped. Her head tilted down and her eyes narrowed. She was not laughing. 

Jiji’s smile was blown away. One woman was leering at her. The other was rubbing her own arms and not engaging with the flirts. 

“Did I say something wrong?” Jiji asked. 

“Stop flirting,” Dante said plainly. “We’re not interested in a teenager.” 

Jiji was eager to protest, “I’m not a teenager!” She stood up to boast, “I’m Twelve-thousand and nine years old! If I were a human, I’d be,” she stopped talking and looked at her hands. 

Neither woman could understand what the Jinn was muttering under her breath. However, her moving fingers made it obvious. As well as the gold abacus the appeared in a glittering puff of gold smoke behind her head. 

“Twenty!” Jiji said. A bead on the abacus shifted. “Or, Twenty-one?” The bead went back and forth on the rail as Jiji rubbed the back of her neck. “Maybe I’m nineteen for a human? Twenty? No! I’m...yeah, twenty! Definitely twenty!” 

Dante sighed, “Ok. So you’re,” she did the finger air quotes for the words, “‘old enough’,” and continued, “to be one of my students. Plus, I’m married. I understand that you may be feeling libidinous after being locked away for-”

Professor Barrett’s heart sank. Her own words rang in her mind as everything else was ceasing to exist. The entire reason she had been frantically looking for the lamp ten minutes ago, had just been repeated. 

“My Class!” Dante screeched. “Oh shit! There’s no way I’ll make it now!” Her hands clawed at her hair and she slumped her shoulders. “My first day working at a University and I’m gonna be late! There’s no way I’ll keep my job after something like that!” 

“Mist-” Jiji was stopped by Tatiana’s elbow nudging her arm. It went right through her arm the same way Tatiana’s foot went through the stool, but the message was delivered. “Uhm, Madam Dante?” 

“There’s gonna be so much traffic on the highway! The backroads might be better. But I’m gonna have to speed to make it! If I get pulled over, that’s even more time wasted and a ticket! Or I could get arrested!”

Dante couldn’t hear Jiji calling her over and over. Or anything for that matter. Something Tatiana was used to at this point.

“J,” Tatiana said. 

“T,” Jiji responded mimicking her tone.

Ignoring the jab, “You said you grant wishes right?” 

Jiji gave a thumbs up, “Three-hundred wishes are at Mistr-, I mean, Madam Dante’s disposal.”

Dante stopped her rambling and dropped her arms. 

“Jiji!” Dante shouted.

“Dante!” Jiji called back. She giggled to herself feeling a small sense of freedom.

Dante grabbed Jiji by her shoulders. Her hands actually landed on skin and not smoke. While Tatiana noticed this, Dante was just desperate for help. 

“I need you to wish me and the lamp to ‘Starlight University’! If you don’t, I’ll be in a lot-”

Jiji abruptly snapped her fingers. 

Suddenly, pop!

There was no fanfare. There was no showmanship. There was no fancy varnish. Dante & Jiji suddenly teleported out of the room instantly without any trace or prelude. 

Tatiana’s plate dropped. She rocketed off the counter looking around for her wife. Her neck frantically turning and her feet pivoting every half second. She was all alone in the house.

“Honey?” she called out. She then ran a hand over her scalp and cursed, “My wife’s been kidnapped by a gay genie!”

End


	3. Let’s lay down some rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dante and Jiji sneak into the university. However, Jiji using her powers makes things a tad distracting.

Dante would slowly peek her head around the corner of a building. There weren’t many students out and about on campus. So, the professor was able to breathe a little easier. But Jiji kept carelessly poking her head around the corners, doing nothing to help Dante’s anxiety.

“Hey, Jiji,” Dante asked.

“Yes, Madam Dante?” 

Dante started walking toward the door sticking close to the wall. She rotated her hand signaling Jiji to stay close behind her. Where Dante stayed an inch off the wall, Jiji turned flat and slid against the bricks like a shadow.

“It’s just ‘Dante’. You don’t,” she saw Jiji’s current form and put her hand on her hip. “Stop before someone sees you.”

Jiji lept off the wall, still only taking up two dimensions. Her performing a ballerina-like twirl on her toes was like looking at a piece of paper spin around in the wind. Thankfully, it only took three circles for Jiji to become a three-dimensional person again. 

“Sorry about that Madam,” Jiji gestured her open hand toward Dante, like an invitation. “You were saying?”

“I was saying, no more ‘Madam’. Or ‘mistress’, or any of that.” She opened the door just a crack, “It’s just ‘Dante’. You don’t have to add a prefix or anything.”

“Actually,” Jiji lifted her hand back up and snapped her fingers. A list attached to a gold clipboard the size of a car door window poofed in her hand. “I’m contractually obligated to,”

Dante recklessly swung her hand at the object. Her hope was to turn it into a puff of smoke. Instead, she just snatched the massive solid gold office supply out of the woman’s hand before clumsily dropping it. When it hit the pathway made of bricks, it left a crack. In the bricks. 

Jiji calmly informed Dante, “If you don’t like gold, I can change it to something else.”

“Oh!” Dante gasped. She grabbed the undamaged board with both hands and lifted it the way you would a heavy box. She then tried to quickly hand it back. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! I thought it’d vanish!”

Jiji accepted the item.

“I forgive you.”

Jiji held it on either side before crushing it in her hands as if it were made of tin foil. She crumpled the board and list into a small ball, and punt kicked it in the direction of a nearby trash can.

The magical creature making a shot from at least fifteen feet wasn’t a surprise. The thing that scared Dante was the celebratory confetti that sprang up from inside the bin after the golden ball landed. 

“Touchdown!” Jiji cheered while getting pom-poms from nowhere. 

Dante rushed the woman inside the building. 

“Ok!” Dante took a breath before explaining, “I can’t get into it now, but you using magic in public is not ok. So, please, go back home and wait for me until I get back.”

Jiji looked down at the ground. Her right hand held her left arm. Her bubbly demeanor washed away under an ashamed frown. 

Dante placed a hand on the ‘young’ woman’s shoulder, summoning her attention. She spoke clearly and without condensation. 

“I’m not mad at you. You’re not in trouble. I just have something important to do at the moment and I can’t take you with me. Understand?”

Jiji’s smile sprouted through her closed lips. Her back straightened and her shoulders rose up. Honestly, Dante was reminded of a puppy she had when she was a kid.

“Of course,” she hesitated, “...Lady... Dante?”

Dante inhaled sharply while pinching the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were shut tight and her exhale could be heard at the end of the hall.

She looked at her watch. 

Under her breath, “Two minutes.” She then asked the genie, “Do you have to call me by some honorific?”

“That’s what the crumpled up piece of paper said,” Jiji shrugged.

Rushing through her words, “Ugh, fine. ‘Professor’ it is.” With that, Dante started to jog down the hall. “Go back home and we’ll talk then.” 

Jiji vigorously pumped her fist out just to give a thumbs up. 

Her proud proclamation, “No problem Professor Dante!” echoed down the hall.

This show got a smirk out of the woman. As well as a less enthusiastic peace sign. 

The door opened then closed behind Dante, leaving Jiji all alone in the hall. No distinctive noises to be heard. No other things to interact with. Nothing but silence in a fairly empty space. 

“Guess I better get going,” she said out loud. 

A quick snap of her fingers and Jiji was gone. Like before, there was nothing spectacular about her exit. She just teleported out of thin air. This time, however, she hit a wall. 

Literally.

Jiji had rammed right into a border, keeping her from going any further. Her face was pressing against, something she couldn’t see. 

“What in the-?” Jiji murmured against the invisible wall.

Her body slid down a few feet. Her skin against the glass made a loud drawn out squeaking sound all the way to the ground below. Which was a four-way intersection.

“Ow,” Jiji whimpered while laying on the asphalt.

She pulled on the tip of her nose, which was now pushed into her face like a button. She pried it back to its natural position on her face. She even scrunched to make sure it wouldn’t fall off.

She got to her feet and looked around. Behind her was the front entrance of the university. Every building in Jiji’s sight was made from bricks. From the library a few yards away to the clock tower standing dead center of the campus. Or at least the visible exteriors were.

“Wha—” Jiji scratched her scalp. She pondered for a moment, looking at the campus she had just snuck into. 

A lightbulb flashed above her head as she lightly thumped her right fist into her open left palm. Jiji grabbed the bulb and unscrewed the metal bottom until it was a separate piece from the glass. She pinched the inside of the metal husk and pulled out a rolled-up paper that grew in size the further out of the metal it came. 

Once it was fully exposed, Jiji unfurled the 10 x 10-inch golden parchment. It consisted of a compass in the bottom right corner. The words ‘California, United States’ woven in the top left corner. Finally, a 6-inch diameter circle indented into the paper.

The bulb moved in the direction the Jinn pointed her index finger, and now hovered above the center of the circle. By default, it was also the center of the paper. Instead of an electrical light illuminating from the glass, a pink flame revealed itself. 

Jiji asked the parchment, “Hey! Where the hell am I?” 

The bulb moved southwest. It stopped, or rather, bumped into the line of the circle. As it rocked from the collision, a transparent dome revealed itself in a series of flickers. It was large enough to encompass the bulb, but not so big that became disproportionate to the line spawning it.

To the opposite radius of the bulb, a small black sketch of a lamp had shown up. Next to it were two letters matching the sketch’s style.

“‘D, B’?” Jiji read.

Her concentration was suddenly broken by a car honking. She didn’t look up, but her brow did curl and her lips did pout. She wasn't sure if she should remove her ears or remove the driver. 

“Get outta the street!” The woman yelled between honks. 

Jiji looked up, “Can you stop that noise for a moment, please? Thank you!” 

She checked the map again trying to remember what ‘D.B’ was. Ignoring the car horn, she thought about what the lamp had in common with those letters. Nothing was springing to mind. Mainly because her ears were being bombarded.

“You speak English?!” She screamed. “Get out of the damn street!”

“Go Around!” Jiji snapped back. She then remembered that Dante was looking for the lamp earlier and that her last name was Barrett. 

“Oh,” she hummed, “Professor Dante still has the lamp.” Then, her voice and shoulders sank. “Oh,” she groaned, “Professor Dante is still using the lamp.”

The car horn went off in unison with each word the driver shouted. 

“Get! Out! Of! The! Street! And! Back! To! What! Ever! Country! You! Came! From!”

The map burst into pink flames. A wave of Jiji’s hands and the hot ashes flew toward the car, singeing the hood upon contact. Jiji watched in glee as each little speck burned through the metal and ate its way into the engine. 

Smoke erupted from the hood before the car died. The lady fumbled out of the driver’s seat hitting the ground with a thud. She was in tears, pulling on her overpriced fake hair. She got to her knees watching the fire start to rise.

“My Car!” She wept. 

Jiji waltzed past the destroyed automobile. Nose in air and voice dripping with spite. 

“You should probably move your car out of the way so others can get by.”

End


	4. Baby’s First College Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now stuck on campus until Professor Dante is done with her lecture, Jiji must keep her powers under wrap. An uphill battle seeing as she keeps running into cute boys and girls. As well as a security guard. Not that the guard is cute, but instead Jiji just doesn’t want to get in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. Please leave a comment.

There weren’t too many students around the campus when Jiji reentered the plaza. The ones who were there immediately took notice of the woman dressed in a pink vest and blue dhoti pants. From the group of friends chilling on the steps of the theater, to the girl elbowing her distracted boyfriend. 

“Let’s see,” Jiji said to herself, “I’m in the western plaza so that means Professor went north.” She stopped and squinted at the semi-familiar administration building. “Or did we keep going east past that big house?” 

“Lost?” A man asked her, “You looking for the drama department?”

Jiji looked to her right, then to her left. She cranked her neck up toward this blonde stranger who had the college’s name on his shirt. Maybe he needed to remind himself what school he went to? 

“Uh, the drama department?” Jiji repeated. 

“Well,” he chuckled, “you’re not a real genie. Are you?” He raised a brow and smirked to finish his joke. “You’re certainly cute enough to be one.”

His voice was deep and had a rasp to it. He was also an entire foot taller than Jiji. She wasn’t dealing with this combination very well.

“No thank you. I’ll be fine,” Jiji said. She fiddled with her fingers behind her back. Little specks of glitter were slipping out of her hands. As much as she wanted to ask for guidance, she desperately hoped the man didn’t keep asking her questions. “I’m just looking for the…” 

Her eyes drifted away toward the stone cut ground around a directory. She then realized she was a few feet from a directory. 

“Oh, there’s the” she read the label in a haste, “directory! You have a good day! I like your hair! And your voice! Okay! I’m gonna stop talking now. Bye-Bye!” 

Jiji zipped to the map trying to find the ‘you are here’ icon. She scanned the display while a finger twiddled with a strand of her hair. Once she found her location, Jiji took a breath. 

“Okay, Professor Dante said something about building ‘L’.” 

Behind the directory along a pathway was the library. She recalled passing by that red-colored roof, but the front door wasn’t ringing any bells. 

She looked back, “So it’s in that direction. But where do I go from there?” 

The man all the way from thirty seconds ago tapped Jiji’s shoulder. 

“Uh, miss?” He asked, “I don’t think,”

Jiji spun completely around, not as happy to see him this time. 

“Look, sir,” Jiji said while clasping her hands. “You’re really attractive and all, but I’m in a hurry and need to-”

“Run from security?” He pointed toward the main entrance where a uniformed security guard could be seen entering the plaza. He was with someone as well. A young woman whose make-up had been washed away under tears. 

“Has anyone seen a middle eastern woman in a pink vest and harem pants?” The guard announced to the few people giving him attention. 

On instinct, “They’re called ‘Dhoti pants’!” 

Security’s eyes were now on a middle eastern woman in a pink vest and blue Dhoti pants. 

“...oops.”

Her nameless friend whispered, “You might wanna run,” as the guard began jogging up to her.

Her shoulders dropped and her back hunched as she groaned. 

“Ugh! I’m not in the mood for this.” 

Jiji snapped her fingers and from her feet, a puff of pink smoke began to rise. As it raised, her body began to disappear behind the mist. Jiji’s lackadaisical goodbye salute to the man would’ve been charming if he was looking at more than just a vanishing head. 

He stood there, uttering the first syllables of certain words while unable to actually say them. What did he just see? How was that possible? Did anybody else see that? 

Well, he got an answer to the last question. 

“Sir,” the guard asked, “have you seen a woman wearing a pink vest and blue harem pants? She’s about five feet tall and is middle eastern.” 

The college student could only run a hand through his hair and exhale. He knew what he saw, but couldn’t begin to describe it. That and describing something he was still processing wouldn’t help any. 

Conceding to not sounding insane, “Nope, haven’t seen anything.” 

Now he just had to call his friend and ask what else was in the protein shake they made that morning.

-

Inside the theater dressing room, a loud thud could be heard. It brought the womens’ attention to the closet with a thin pink fog lingering under the door. 

A grumbled, “Ow,” was heard.

“Is anyone in there?” One student asked while knocking. 

Another woman, the smallest of the six, stormed toward the door passing her classmates. 

“It ain’t a bathroom.” 

She swung the door open revealing our upside-down protagonist with a broom on her chin and her foot in a dustbin. Jiji wasn’t in that position for long, stumbling out to the carpet with all the grace of a toddler learning how to somersault. The genie even took the mini vacuum with her.

“Hello~.” Jiji sang, now surrounded by six women. 

From left to right, Jiji took in the sight. A concerned redhead with freckles. A confused blonde with more muscles than all of them. A perplexed blue-haired girl with a gay pride pin. An intrigued woman with natural black hair. An insulted short woman with dyed black hair. And a disgusted dirty blonde who now had dirt on her shoes. 

Regardless, Jiji felt the pressure of silence more than any of their reactions. 

“I kind of had to hide and lost track of, uh.” Jiji saw that there was only one entrance into the room. Well, one entrance for a human. “Time. Totally fell asleep in the closet.”

“Oh no!” The redhead said. 

Two others helped her up as the others began questioning the shortest woman in the room. All at the same time. 

“Are you ok?” 

Jiji put her hands up with her palms open.

“Well, I-”

The blue-haired girl asked, “Why’re you dressed like a genie?”

Her eyes drifted up toward the ceiling.

“You see, I-” 

“You in the freshman course or somethin’?” The natural black asked. 

She took a step back.

“Kinda. I’m-”

The dirty blonde put the broom away, “Why the closet?”

Jiji glanced at the door once more.

“Listen, I’m sorry for disturbing you lovely ladies. I’m just gonna head out. I’ll be late for my class with Professor Barrett.”

The woman who opened the door at the start spoke up.

“You’ve got her 4 o'clock archeology 101 lecture?”

Jiji let her hands swing down and rested them behind her back. None of the women were behind her, so none of them saw the glitter.

“...Yes! I have that thing!” 

“But, it’s barely one o’clock,” the redhead clarified.

Jiji stretched out an “I” while searching to find a plausible lie. After four seconds of looking around the room, she wound up with, “...I like to be prepared.” 

The women were all standing in a row. The first one on the left, the one with natural black hair, snickered before joking with the rest. 

“Yep. She’s a freshman.”

Most of them laughed. The one who didn’t, the sunflower blonde, leaned forward just a hair. 

“You’re not leaving just yet.”

Jiji clutched the pile of glitter in her palm. Her heart was in her throat. Not literally, but she had to focus so that wouldn’t become the case. Six witnesses were much harder to use magic on that one. Especially after her last use of magic. 

“We got some spare clothes you can swap into,” the ginger offered. 

Jiji unclenched her jaw. She relaxed her shoulders just enough for the other girls to notice. She didn’t say anything, but the girls could guess why this woman was slowly narrowing her brow. 

The first woman to say anything to Jiji was the first to point out why they didn’t want her to leave just yet. It was done by literally pointing.

Jiji looked at her own outfit. Her pants were covered in dust to the point where the sparkles weren’t visible. Her vest was disheveled and wrinkled to a degree that made it look less exotic and more like a Halloween costume. Her stand out appearance was, even more, stand out.

“It’s mostly lost and found stuff. But I’m certain we could pull out something cute for you.”

The blue girl nudged her arm, “Gay.”

Laughing, “Shut up!”

Jiji had two choices. Leave, snap her fingers, and go back to finding out where Dante’s class was with no help. Or, wait for six attractive women to find her a more casual, more conspicuous outfit and possibly tell her more about the campus and college life. 

“Well,” Jiji slowly shrugged as a smile slunk onto her face, “if you insist.” 

-

Inside Dante’s classroom, some students were recording the lecture via their phones. Others had laptops with microphones attached. However, the level of attention they were paying to Professor Barrett varied.

“Now, in conclusion;” Dante clicked the button in her hand. The PowerPoint then showed a golden urn. Little markers were pointing out small details of what proved it to be genuine. “Legends are often echoed in what society leaves behind. While some are real, tried, and tested so that they can be documented for future societies to learn from. Either that or be inspired from.”

She continued on with the lecture, enthusiastically clicking on the button to the next slide. Two urns were now side by side. One of Egyptian origin is pure gold and hand-carved. The other one was clearly inspired by what the pharaoh’s remains were kept in. It had ‘made in China’ located on the bottom. 

Unfortunately, some students didn’t see the joke. They were on their phone, while it was recording the professor’s voice. Either that, or their eyes were on the slowly opening door. 

Dante tapped her fingers against the table for a moment. She looked toward the young man with his tablet out at the end of a booth. The reflection in his glasses showed he was typing more notes. The reflection in the young woman’s glasses sitting next to him revealed that she was looking up some kind of anime. 

“Ok then,” Barrett huffed. 

She then pulled out a lamp. If its decor didn’t catch the student’s attention, then the light bouncing off it did. Some whistled at the gold. Others dropped their jaws at the jewels. Jiji just kept tip toeing within Dante’s blind spot. 

Jiji kept her shoulder to the wall as she approached the first booth. Her professor, like everyone else, was glued to the item that brought her there, to begin with. While Jiji could see her tiny home through the corner of her eye, she had to ignore it for a minute. Just until she could slip into a seat. 

Problem was, there weren’t any open ones. Plus, Dante could just turn her head a little to the left and spot the reality breaker. Luckily, someone else took notice of Jiji before the professor did. And boy, did they take notice. 

Jiji’s genie outfit was gone. Well, it was inside of her newfound single strap backpack. But, the student couldn’t see that. Having x-ray vision wasn’t something humans are typically known for.

What she could see was a high cut sleeveless sky blue hoodie that let Jiji show off her well-defined arms. Black pants with that could zip off at the knees. Starting from the waist, there was a shimmering sapphire line going down the outer sides of both pant legs. The open zipper, revealing Jiji’s knees, was golden. Lastly, there were Jiji’s running shoes. They were just as black as the pants, but had a pink midsole, ridgeline, outsole, and as well as pink eyelets. 

The girl who spotted Jiji scooted over just enough for her to slink into a seat while Professor Barrett kept talking about the origins of oil lamps. Neither were listening to her. The woman wasn’t listening because her tablet was doing that for her. Jiji wasn’t listening, because she was having a repeat of her earlier encounters.

“Hello,” the girl whispered. 

Stuttering, “He-h-hi.” 

The two looked back to the professor. Again, Barrett was doing her job. That being, talking enthusiastically about the difference between a real Arabian oil lamp, and a one ‘made in China’. 

“Gold is not easily dented. Nor does it erode over time. This pawn shop knock off is both.” 

Jiji slapped her hand over her mouth. Her shoulders shook in sync with the little snickers that managed to escape past her fingers. She inevitably had to lower her head down to the desk in a feeble attempt to hide how sharp her breaths had now become.

The woman next to Jiji was now smiling at her. She leaned in a little and tucked a strand of her red-dyed hair behind her ear.

“You all good?” She asked. 

Jiji nodded between quick exhales.

“You’re gonna get caught.” 

Jiji whipped her hair back as she rose. One last inhale and the flustered expression she did everything to hide was gone without a trace. She was, from the outside, just another student paying attention. 

“Good job.” 

“Thanks.”

Facetiously, “Just in time for the lecture to end.” 

At a normal speaking volume, “What?”

The clock on the wall hit 1 pm. Every student began packing their belongings back into their bags. Some were rapid, others took their time. Regardless, Jiji watched as humans impersonated bees leaving a hive. 

“Remember, your essays are due in two weeks.” Professor Barrett announced. “Stay safe.” 

A few scattered ‘goodbyes’ and ‘laters’ sounded off. While everyone was getting out of their seats, Jiji was sinking into hers. Her hands cupped her burning cheeks and her eyes stuck to the table. She couldn’t bear to look at this cute girl now.

A slip of paper slid in front of Jiji. It carried the name ‘Jazmine’ with a phone number under it. This got Jiji to perk up like a puppy seeing a ball roll in front of her. 

“Tell ya what,” Jazmine offered, “Give me a text and I’ll send you the lecture you missed. Sound good?”

Jiji just nodded, unable to conjure a single sentence. Her focus was half on Jazmine’s dark skin and green eyes. The other half was holding back hearts in her own eyes. 

“Cool,” Jazmine grabbed her backpack and stood up, “Hopefully you’ll be on time for the next class.” 

She scooched past Jiji, slowly stepping over her feet, and headed toward the door. If she had been facing the poor woman, Jazmine would’ve seen Jiji’s heart pounding out of her chest and against the inside of her hoodie. 

Dante on the other hand witnessed the pulsing valentine under the fabric. She waited for the door to fully close before sitting down on the desk in front of Jiji.

“Came back for the lamp?” Dante asked.

Jiji sighed, finally letting her eyes change shape. 

“Yeah,” her voice dripped with desire, “that was the plan.” 

Dante allowed Jiji to continue staring at the wall. Her curiosity lied in what the scrap of paper said.

“Oh,” Dante smirked, “Jazz gave you her cell number.” 

“Yeah,” Jiji didn’t look away or change her voice in the slightest. “What’s a cell number?”

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork by @34choco on tumblr


	5. Give me a call. (Arc 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatiana gets used to her new roommate.

“This is a cell phone,” Tatiana said, holding her phone.

“It says ‘PineApple’,” Jiji responded. 

Clarifying, “That’s the name of the brand.”

“Are there other fruits that you can use to call people?” Jiji pondered, “Can I get a melon? Oh! What about a strawberry!?” A golden bowl of strawberries poofed into existence on the living room table. “Hungry?”

“Surprised the strawberries weren’t gold.”

“Nah,” Jiji popped one in her mouth. “That only works on inanimate objects.” 

Tatiana bit into a fruit, pleasantly surprised by the level of sweetness. She then shrugged at Jiji and looked at her phone. 

“Anyway, a cell is a phone that’s portable. But these are basically tiny computers.”

“Really?!” Jiji asked with wide eyes.

The phone flew into Jiji’s open hand as if it were following an invisible string. She looked intently at the screen, observing the apps and beautiful clarity. Her finger poked at an icon with a fox-like creature wrapping its tail around the world, guessing what that could mean. 

“That’s a web browser. You look up information with it.” Tatiana leaned in a bit, “Like, how to ask permission and not snatch things.”

She sheepishly chuckled, “Oh, sorry.” 

Jiji offered the phone back, but Tatiana waved her hand. She was on her second succulent strawberry, which was more important at the moment. 

To go into detail on how to use a smartphone would be redundant. After all, there’s a high possibility that these words are being read on a smartphone. Kind of like the news article Jiji had managed to pull up all on her own by using the voice to text. 

The Jinn whistled, “You humans are impressive.” She then read a little more of the article, “Cept when you’re killing each other over skin tone. Then you’re just sad.” 

Tatiana scoffed, “Ya telling me.” 

Dante’s footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Tatiana waved at her wife, kicking her feet on the table. Jiji’s head shot up like a puppy hearing a can of food being opened. Her feet turned into springs, launching her off the couch like a toy, nearly touching the ceiling, and landing elegantly at the bottom of the stairs a few feet away from Dante. 

“Professor Dante!” Jiji cheered, showing off the ‘PineApple 13.7 Ultra-Max’ while bouncing on her toes, “Look! Look! Look! Tatiana gave me her cell phone!”

The stars in her eyes vanished when Tatiana intervened with, “She’s borrowing it for the day. I’m letting her figure out how apps work.” She was now on her third strawberry. 

“Aw!” Jiji’s shoulders sunk, “I need to call that ‘Jazzy-Cutie’ from Professor Dante’s class.”

“A class that I’m going to be late for.” Dante stepped around her new house guest. 

Tatiana’s heart fluttered. There her wife was. A short woman in a suit and lesbian flag tie, scooching against the wall while gripping her briefcase like a child trying to be sneaky. That goofy image just brought out the biggest grin Tatiana could get and she did nothing to hide it. 

“Also,” Dante offered, “if you do call her, please don’t give her any indication that you’re staying here.” 

Jiji gave a lackluster thumbs up. Her stare fell on the phone that was no longer hers to keep. Never before did she not know she wanted something until it was taken away from her.

“Now,” Dante kissed her wife’s cheek, “Are you two gonna be fine while I’m at work?”

Tatiana replied, “Nah. The house is gonna catch fire and we’re gonna run up the phone bill.” 

Dante rolled her eyes and hit her spouse with a pillow. In the face. 

“Have fun teaching hon’!” 

“You too.” Dante turned to Jiji before taking a step. “Make sure you listen to ‘Tea’. Okay?”

Jiji gave a slightly less than enthusiastic thumbs up. 

Dante exhaled and opened the front door, “Alright, bye you two.” 

Tatiana got up and rushed to the door. 

“Hold up!” Tatiana quickly pulled her wife in by the waist and kissed her on the lips. The surprise of it added a little more spice to the tenderness. A tenderness that Dante instantly gave back. A spice that Tatiana savored.

It reminded them both of their very first kiss. Dante’s arms wrapped behind Tatiana’s head and her foot lifted off the ground. Tatiana’s grip rose from her wife’s hips to the small of her back, making sure they were as close as possible. The couple broke the kiss and just hugged for a moment. 

“Now you can leave for work,” Tatiana whispered. 

Dante raised a brow as she held back a laugh, “Well, aren’t you gracious?” 

A loud flash and a puff of gold smoke snapped the two out of their romantic session. Jiji was standing there with a 1900’s style camera on a tripod. The girl was more than pleased with the image she captured and even showed the couple. After she fanned it for a few seconds. 

“You two are so cute together!” Jiji snapped the camera away and handed off the Polaroid, “Here ya go! Hopefully, I got your good sides.” 

The photo was in black and white, to Dante’s surprise. Tatiana just leered at the photo a bit. 

“Am I really that big?”

Dante nudged her wife’s arm, “I like you big. That’s why I married you.” They exchanged playful glances. Dante had a sly grin. Tatiana condescendingly tilted her head. 

Mockingly, “You just like me for my fat ass?”

“You’ll find out when I come home.” Dante gave a peck to Tatiana’s forehead, “Love you.”

“Love you too.” 

Finally, the door closed and Tatiana & Jiji were alone. Jiji gave Tea a happy thumbs up in an attempt to break the awkward silence. Tea returned the gesture, followed by looking at the picture once more. She then had something to say to her friend upon realizing Jiji still had her phone.

“You do know that the phone can take better pictures than this right?”

“I’m sure it can. But first,” Jiji suddenly clapped her hands together, smashing the phone in between her palms like a piece of paper. 

“What The Fu-” Tatiana’s justified screech was cut off by the familiar sound of her text tone. But, it was coming from her back pocket. There was even the vibration. 

One swift pull, and there it was. A perfectly intact ‘PineApple’ phone with a Milky Way galaxy-themed case. The lock screen had a picture of her and Dante’s kiss at the beach with the ocean in the background from years ago. 

The text notification read, ‘Needed to sort of ‘copy’ from yours first since I don’t know how these things work. Anyway, thanks for the new phone!’

It was from, ‘Jiji Jinn’. The same ‘Jiji Jinn’ who was now holding her own smartphone. Now, Jiji had made some alterations from Tatiana’s ‘PineApple 13.7 Ultra-Max’, so it wasn’t a carbon ‘copy’. For instance, she would never have that same phone case.

Her gold ‘Mega-Max-Melon’ had a 5.5-inch screen. The transparent case had pink glitter slowly shuffling around like infinitely falling snow. The phone service read ‘Lamp’ instead of ‘Retro’. Finally, the lock screen was a gif image of a hot and steaming sauteed steak on a gold plate.

Jiji then revealed Jazmine’s phone number, “Can you help me make a call?”

Any resentment Tatiana had for the magic-user flew into the wind. Not because of Jiji’s kind plea for assistance resembling a nervous teen with a crush. Although her ear to ear smile did help. Instead, Tea’s anger was swept away upon an investigation to see if her phone was affected by the magic trick.

The small dent in the corner of the case was gone. The air bubble under the screen protector was nowhere to be seen. When she unlocked the phone, there was absolutely no delay. Nor was there any lag when Tatiana went through her contacts and clicked on her browser. Finally, the big one, her phone bill was paid.

“Forget the call!” Tea said, “I’ll help you set the date up!”

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m going to be writing this story in 4-6 chapter arcs. This will be the beginning of the second arc where GiGi & Tatiana will bond over interest. Let me know what you think.


	6. All Work And No Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dante calls up a friend to get some more information on genies. Meanwhile, Jiji and Tatiana play video games.

“Genies tend to be tricksters by design.” Director Sobeck stated. “They’re usually selfish or have ulterior motives behind their actions.”

Dante held the recent photo of her and Tatiana kissing from that morning in one hand. Her other hand held her phone.

“All of them?” Mrs. Barrett asked. 

Sobeck was tapping her fingers against her desk so loud that Dante could hear it on her end of the phone. Or maybe she was just on speaker. Either way, Dante awaited an answer while leaning back in her seat.

“Well, like humans, they can make the choice whether or not to be an uncompromising dick. And you won’t have to look pretty far to find one.”

She rocked back and forth in her chair before an empty classroom, “Long day at the museum?” 

“The kids can read the ‘do not touch’ signs, but grown-ass adults can’t.” Sobeck continued, “Anyway, they’re basically humans if we had the power to shapeshift. We need to do push-ups, whereas a Jinn can just snap their fingers and get buff. But they still need food and water to survive. Which is weird if you ask me.”

Dante’s brow sunk and her eyes shifted to the phone. She held any comments, waiting for her mentor to give more insight. Grabbing a pen and notebook off her desk, she let out a long, ‘hmmm’ before taking notes.

“I mean, why would they need food if their bodies aren’t organic? Like, if they’re ‘born from a smokeless flame’ and thus nothing more than a sentient cloud, why would they need water?” Sobeck could be heard taking a swig of soda. At least Dante hoped it was soda.

“Uh, I thought they were ‘basically human’?” Dante asked. 

“They are,” the director explained, “In the sense that they’re not immortal and need to procreate otherwise they’ll die out.”

Dante let her pen hit the paper with a disappointed thud.

“You do realize that by that logic, you could argue that humans and rabbits are cousins?” She chuckled, “On second thought, we certainly procreate like rabbits.” 

Sobeck exhaled and took another sip of something that may or may not be alcohol.

“It’s better than any pun you’ve given.”

Director Sobeck spoke up after a second of silence, “Anyway, there’s different types of Jinn. There’s ‘Marid’, the wish-granting genies. ‘Ghouls’ are apparently just evil by default. Another common one are the ‘Ifrit’ who,” 

Dante had to ask, “Sorry Miss. Sobeck, but can you tell me more about the ‘Marid’ one?”

“You watched cartoons as a kid? Correct?”

Barrett hesitantly answered, “Uhm, Yes.”

“Then you know about them.” 

Dante’s mind was like a film reel. She relieved every little transformation and display of magic Jiji had done in front of her. More so, the look of delight on Jiji’s face during her magic acts. The Genie’s performative nature and joy in using her abilities did help ease Dante a bit.

Sobeck’s tone turned from instructional to speculative, “Why’re you so interested in genies all of a sudden?” 

All four legs of Dante’s seat returned to the floor. Jiji’s name couldn’t be allowed to leave her mouth. She needed to find something else to explain this conversation. Another reason before Miss. Sobeck got suspicious.

“Uh...just being thorough in my lessons.” 

Cracking open another unidentifiable beverage, “First time for everything.”

-

  


“You suck!” Jiji yelled with fire in her eyes.

Jiji’s go-kart, or rather her tiny character driving the go-kart, groaned as they slammed into a brick wall instead of completing the sharp turn. The ‘princess’ went right back to being cheerful and bubbly in spite of a head-on collision. Meanwhile, Jiji was gripping the controller so tight that the plastic could be heard giving into the pressure. 

“You’re talking about the fictional character, right?” Tatiana asked. 

The woman sat back in her gamer chair, cruising through the level without any worries. Jiji was in last place and the computer players weren’t exactly sending any credible threats her way. At worst, her go-kart would come just a little too close to a rocket one of them sent her character’s way. At best, they would run into something. Or rather, Jiji would ram into them. 

“Why is my cutie not doing the thing but yours is!?” Jiji flung her arms to the left when approaching a left turn. Her kart, once again, scrapped against the railing before plummeting off the course as both the racer and Jiji yelled. 

“Did you,” Tatiana held back a laugh, “did you, like, not read the stats?”

“The television said she had 4 stars!” Jiji pouted, “Personally, I think she’s a 9. But, still.”

“Yeah, a 4 in speed. She’s 1 in handling and 2 in,” Tatiana stopped when the sound of the princess’ descending scream into a void prompted Jiji to bolt up and stomp her foot. 

“AH! Damn it to hell!”

Celebratory trumpets sounded off when Jiji’s back faced the tv.

“Oh, hey. I won.” Tea looked at J, “Again.” 

“That’s It!” 

Jiji grabbed the controller with both hands as if it were a steering wheel. She twisted her wrist on the handle like a driver revving their bike. The sudden sound of an actual chopper coming from Jiji’s fingers made Tatiana blink and do a double-take. 

“I don’t remember the vibrate feature being that loud.”

Like a flash of lightning, Jiji’s body turned into a white silhouette for a quarter of a second before vanishing. All that remained in her place was a patch of burned carpet. Tatiana would’ve been mad if she didn’t already watch this person create a new phone by clapping her hands.

Instead, she was more concerned with why she was back at the character select screen. 

“Princess!” Jiji stomped into frame from the left side of the screen. She was in the game’s cartoony, 3D style where everything had a bright shade like a toy. “You’re fired!”

She pointed the princess character off-screen. Obeying the command, the ‘horrible to control’ racer slugged away with her head so low that her crown began to slide off of her blonde locks. Jiji was more than willing to snatch the crown and claim it as her own. 

Jiji’s new item flashed for a second. Instantly following the flash, Jiji’s regular clothes began to blink in and out in sequence with her brand new kart racing suit. Her dedication to a specific color scheme continued with pink boots with gold laces, a blue suit with gold lining, and, naturally, a gold crown with blue and pink jewels. 

Jiji punt kicked the fungus icon under that character’s selection window. It zipped past another character, a lengthy man in overalls, who had to duck so he didn’t get hit. This motion got Tatiana’s attention since, well, she had been watching Jiji the entire time.

All the other characters in their selection windows watched in confusion as Jiji pulled out an oil lamp out of her suit. The short man in overalls scratched his head wondering how this girl managed to fit the lamp into such a tight outfit. The two baby racers dropped their jaws, one of them losing a pacifier as a result, as this mystery woman summoned a shiny hammer the size of her head. The nearby bipedal dinosaur couldn’t cover his ears while the genie made a new logo for herself. The other princess, with good handling but poor speed, stoked her chin seeing the golden lamp shine in the same vein as everyone’s icon. Finally, the swordsman in a tunic was blushing. 

“Hey, there~!” Jiji sang, leaning against his selection window, “How many stars do you have~?” 

“Hold on, I thought you were a lesbian,” the lesbian, Tatiana Barrett, interrupted. 

“I’m what you humans call, ‘pansexual’.” Jiji explained, “Genies don’t really care about gender. A cute face is a cute face.” She looked back to the knight, “and he’s got a very cute face.”

Tatiana then selected the ‘cute-faced’ racer. 

The fires in Jiji’s eyes returned as she screamed, “You suck!”

Speaking smugly, “You got a date later today. Can’t have you cheating with a fictional character.” 

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork by @34choco on tumblr


	7. More Information Is Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jazz indicates that she knows something about Jiji.

“Define ‘date’.” Dante dictated.

She stood next to her car on the driver’s side watching Jazz use the hood of her car as a seat; not that she asked. Dante crossed her arms as her student began to take out a cigarette. Ten feet away from a graffiti-tagged ‘no smoking’ sign. 

Jazz’s shoulder-length ruby red hair took some attention away from her brown eyebrows. Ironically, it was her emerald eyes just below her bangs that drew Dante’s attention. Dante did everything she could to hold back a Christmas color pun.

“I mean, Jiji and I are going to a drive-in theater tonight. And I’m hoping it goes well.” Jazz inhaled the poison and exhaled out through her nose. “You know, ‘back to the apartment’ kind of well.”

Barrett clicked her key and swung her door open. She didn’t intend for the beep to stun Jazz, but didn’t bother apologizing. 

As she stuck a leg into the car, “This is not an appropriate conversation to have with your professor.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk. Jiji staying with a professor ain’t exactly ‘appropriate’ either.” 

Dante’s heart stopped with her body. She shot her gaze back to Jazz, who still hadn’t put the cigarette out. Instead, her student was pulling out her phone and shaking it in such a way to say ‘look here’. 

Dante brought herself out of the car and closed the door a little harder than intended. She put her hands on her hips, awaiting Jazz to reveal her hand. So to speak. 

The first thing Jazz showed was an image from ‘Jiji Jinn’. Well, it was an ‘image’ of her hand covering most of the camera with just enough of Jiji’s bewildered face between her fingers. The texts that followed were sent rapidly after the other. 

Jiji:  
‘Crap! Sorry! New phone!’  
‘How do I use the voice to-‘  
‘What’s that wave thing mean? Hey! Tatiana! My phone is doing a wave!’  
‘No, don’t send that!’  
‘Damn it!’  
‘Stop!’  
‘T help! My Cellular smartphone is betraying me!’  
‘Can I call Professor Dante?’  
‘Stop texting the cutie!’  
‘Jazz don’t read that!’  
‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!’  
‘T! It keeps mocking me!’

Jazz decided to text back to the wall of madness two minutes after the fact. If she had used voice to text, it would’ve picked up her hysterical laughing that bordered on wheezing.

‘So, are we still going out tonight or after your phone stops being a dick?’

Jiji’s response was a location for pickup. A house in a suburban area. Dante & Tatiana Barrett’s house. 

The text under it read:

Jiji:‘Movie starts at 7 so would 6 be a good time to pick me up?’

Jazz: ‘Yeah sure. See ya tonight cutie.’

Jiji: ‘Ahh! I’m so excited T, she’s so hot! Her eyes are super pretty and her hair is red like a ruby. I'm certain it’s colored since I don’t see many humans with red hair like hers. But it looks really good with her dark skin! Plus, her boobs look super soft!’

Jazz: ‘They are soft. Thank you.’

The final text from Jazz was a link to instructions on how to shut off the voice to text feature on phones.

Dante had her head in her hands, not sure whether to laugh or cry. Her long drawn-out groan couldn’t encapsulate just how deeply these few seconds of reading had drained her. Her body wound up leaning against the car on instinct as a muffled ‘oh my god’ erupted from Dante. 

Jazz had begun snickering so hard her shoulders were shaking. She had meant to set her cigarette down but wound up dropping it between her sharp inhales. Tears were starting to come from the corners of her shut eyes. 

“So,” Jazz breathed heavily, “What’s it like having Jiji live with you?”

-

Tatiana walked into the living room ready to hand Jiji’s phone back to her.

“There, now ya gotta type everything.”

She saw Jiji laying face down on the couch. Her friend was completely stiff and unmotivated to move. Jinn’s little puppy-like whimpers were muffled by the cushion. However, Tatiana was more intrigued by the dark cloud above Jiji’s head. Or rather the rain following the tiny claps of thunder. 

“Ok, I know you’re sad. But can you not be sad all over the couch?”

Barely audible, “I messed up. Again.”

Tatiana set the phone on the armrest of the couch, that was dry, and sat on the opposing loveseat’s armrest. 

“Which is why I told you to wait.” She fanned her hand in an ornate way while she practically sang, “but nooooooooo~! You just haaad to text your hot sauce haired crush our address!” 

“I’m sorry!”

Tatiana didn’t know if she should laugh at Jiji’s unrealistically high pitched cry into the seat. Or if she should risk getting wet by patting Jiji’s shoulder while holding back a laugh. Inevitably, she went for the reassuring pat, on the back. 

“I’m just Joshing ya kid.”

Jiji slid her face against the wet fabric. Tatiana couldn’t tell if she had been crying before, but wasn’t surprised by her red eyes. 

“Who the hell is ‘Josh’?” Jiji asked between sniffles, “Is...he cute?”

Tatiana then lightly kicked at the genie’s foot hanging off the couch, “Just clean up the couch the way you did the carpet before Dante gets home. Definitely don’t want her freaking out.”

Jiji stayed in the same planking pose, snapping the rain cloud away. The zipper swung open and in place of stuffing was a waterfall. The cushion started to dry out as the liquid flowed to the floor in an awaiting golden pan. 

The furniture was clean. The pan was full. The genie was still depressed, but was doing her best. 

“What should I do with this?” Jiji asked, plucking up the pan. 

Tea shrugged at first. It was just a pan of magically created water. There wasn’t much they could do with it aside from drink it. 

That’s when she turned halfway to spot the stove and pantry.

“You drink tea?” Tea asked.

Jiji found a smile, “I’ve read that it can be very sweet.” 

End


	8. Can I trust you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiji is so excited about her first date that she’s bouncing off the walls. Literally. But, should she go in the first place?

“Why did you give the hyperactive lesbian with infinite magical power and no attention span sugar?” 

Dante Barrett stood in front of the door. Next to her was Tatiana Barrett. Before them was JiJi Jinn running in a perfect circle, along the wall. She even left a pink trail of sparkles under her footprints.

“Hi, Professor Dante!” JiJi yelled, still circling above their heads like a roadrunner chasing a bug. 

“She’s pansexual.” Tatiana corrected. 

Dante combined her grumble with a side-eyed glare. 

“Easy girl! I thought she could handle it! Besides, it was just some sweet tea.”

“Your ‘sweet tea’ or a normal person’s ‘sweet tea’.”

JiJi bounced off the wall, did a 450-degree spin, tucking her knees as she did so, and used the couch to stick the landing on with confetti rocking out of the cushion. Dante shielded herself from the mass amount of small pieces of paper that only managed to get stuck in her hair. Tatiana couldn’t be bothered to flinch. Her only reaction came after the wall of gold sprinkled away. 

Their living room had turned into a runway with JiJi being the model. She posed on a blue carpet with lights pointing up toward her person. On her person was a strapless sequin dress reaching her calves, topaz earrings with a bracelet to match, and high heel shoes. Even her hair was tied in a bun instead of its usual ponytail. 

“What is your obsession with gold?” Dante asked, “Is that something to do with Jinn culture?” 

JiJi’s outfit was, as always, fixated on one of her favorite colors. Sparkling and reflecting against the lights. 

“Nope!” JiJi happily twirled her dress side to side, “I just like gold! And Blue! And Pink! Especially pink! Should I go in a pink dress instead?”

“That’s your question,” Tatiana asked her wife. “Not, ‘where’s my couch’ or ‘where’d the dress come from’?” She then answered JiJi, “You’re gonna want something less formal. Unless they serve lobster at that drive-in theater.” 

“She’s not human. Unless she makes the house completely disappear, I’m done being surprised.” 

JiJi snapped her fingers and everything returned to normal. Well, Tatiana and Dante weren’t sitting on the couch before, but neither minded the teleporting. 

Dante held her stomach, “Ok, so that just happened.” 

Well, Tatiana didn’t mind.

“Sorry Professor Dante.” JiJi began bouncing on her toes, “I’m just so excited! I’ve never been on a date before! I’ve never been to a movie theater before either! It’s my first in a lot of things! I’ve read a lot about movies and how they work from projections from a film reel device to a white screen and then the speakers around the room simulate-”

Dante put a pin in the word dump for a moment. 

“JiJi, listen to me for a second. This girl you’re going out with, Jazz, what do you know about her?”

Jiji had stars in her eyes, “Oh man! She’s so cute! She’s got this long hair that makes her eyes pop! She wears these tight jeans that show off her huge-”

Dante interrupted, “No, I mean, her personality. What are her interests? Is she trustworthy? What does she like to do?” 

Tea chimed in with a, “Uh babe, isn’t that what the date’s for?” 

Dante pinched the bridge of her nose shutting her eyes. As she took an inhale, Tatiana loosened her wife’s tie and rubbed her back. When Dante opened her eyes, it was with a smile.

“Look,” Dante offered to their ‘young’ adult friend, “You and I both like our girls thick. But you need to know more about her than ‘they have big boobs’. Otherwise, you could be going out with a possible serial killer.” 

Jinn scratched her scalp at the statement. She even tilted her head and let out an ‘uh’. Jinn then casually summoned a giant scimitar in hand. The blade was the size of her torso and head, yet she held it like a baseball bat over the shoulder. 

“Professor, I can...handle myself.”

“That is not what I meant!” Dante panicked, picturing JiJi under arrest for beheading another one of her students. 

“Why a scimitar?” Tea asked. Her wife’s side-eye sent her out of the room. “I’ll go pick out a better outfit for our girl.” 

Dante stepped from her seat to meet her genie eye to eye. She guided the sword to the ground and clasped her hands on JiJi’s shoulders. Neither were smiling.

“JiJi, listen, I don’t trust Jazz. I think she’s just looking to take advantage of you. I know you can handle yourself, physically, but I need you to know that you shouldn’t give personal info to people you’ve only known for a day or two.” Dante asked, “Understand?” 

“Not really,” JiJi admitted. “I’ve known you for the same amount of time. Also, I technically met Tea before I met you. Well, I knew who you were the second your hand touched my lamp. Meaning I’ve known you for a day before we met in pers-”

“You’re rambling.”

“Sorry Professor Dante.” Back on track, “Well, I trust you because of our magic connection. I trust Tatiana because she showed me how to play a video game. Also, you trust her. So, if Jazz is willing to take me out to a movie after I messed up with texting her, then she should be trustworthy.”

Dante shook her head and let go of the girl. She lowered her brow as the lecture went on. 

“Someone doing a few nice things doesn’t make them a nice person. They could just be faking it to get something out of you. You really need to think about who you associate with and why they want to associate with you. You agreed to go on a date with Jazz not knowing anything about her other than she has a nice body. You can’t just blindly put yourself in situations where people can take advantage of you.” 

Dante stopped talking when she realized the woman before her wasn’t exactly listening. JiJi was rubbing her arm and looking down at the carpet. So, there was this sigh that came from Dante to reset the mood.

Barrett spotted the lamp on the coffee table. Without wasting any time, or leaving any feelings to sour, she handed the item to JiJi. No words shared. Just an exchange of expressions. One regretful, and another grateful.

“You have my number if the date goes bad?” Dante asked sincerely.

JiJi poofed her phone into her hand, “No, but I have your wife’s number!”

“Please rephrase that.”

Said wife then rushed back into the room with a tablet in hand. 

“Ok, since the ‘ballroom getup’ won’t fly for a movie date, I say we put you in this!” Tatiana let JiJi grasp the device and gasp at the picture. “Whaddya think?”

“She’s so freaking pretty!” JiJi said, referencing the model. “Her outfit is really cute too! I’m totally taking it!” 

JiJi stuck her hand into the tablet screen. Dante checked the other side, unable to find Jinn’s fingers. Tatiana didn’t know what else she was expecting. 

Jiji fished out the articles of clothing one at a time. First were the black and yellow high-top sneakers that she tossed downward and transported onto her feet replacing the high heels. Her next item to trade with the model were the jean shorts and leggings with bedazzled back pockets. To top it off was a short sleeve pixie pink top underneath a lightweight blue hoodie. 

All of the items hung in the air as if gravity were a suggestion instead of a rule. JiJi grabbed the hoodie and used it to cover her hips and legs like a matador with a cape. She pulled with grace and revealed the leggings and shorts. Now, the top half of her dress looked as if it was tucked into designer jeans. All JiJi had to do now was put the hoodie on, zip it up over her dress, then zip it down to reveal the pink top on her body. The only thing unchanged were the earrings. 

“How do I look?” JiJi asked knowing the answer.

“Girl!” Tea high fived the girl, “Jazz is gonna drool when she sees you!”

“Yes!” JiJi pumped her fist.

Almost on cue, a car horn honked from the driveway.

“Speak of the devil,” Dante muttered. 

“Oh! Almost forgot!” JiJi pulled on the chain of her lamp. Its length increased and the size of the lamp itself got wider and larger as she tugged. She stopped when the lamp’s metal resembled a more silicone texture. The chain was now long enough for her to sling from her shoulder. Finally, a zipper and a small velcro pocket were now present. The genie lamp was now in purse form and carrying her phone. 

“Wish me luck!”

“Good luck J!” Tea cheered.

“Be safe,” Dante said.

JiJi took a step, phasing her foot through the door, forgetting that humans needed to open doors before walking through the gap. She then swiftly drew back and used the door as a human would. The door opened and closed in a second and JiJi Jinn was on her way to her very first date. The two women who watched the display suddenly got a little less secure. 

“Is she gonna be ok?” Dante asked. 

“I dunno.” Tea admitted. “Let’s watch a movie. You’ve been stressed lately.” 

“Yeah, a kid with infinite power running around in my house high on sugar will do that!”

“Hey,” Tea argued, “my name’s on the mortgage too.”

-

JiJi didn’t know what to focus on. The drive-in theater was packed with all different sorts of cars, ranging from 4x4 trucks and jeeps to the convertibles and low riders parked directly in front of the screens. But before she and Jazz could sit amongst them, they had to get past this mysterious glass box with a mechanical rail blocking them from entering. JiJi imagined driving straight through it would cause issues for them. The only person who seemed to be able to allow any entry was a man inside the box.

“Hi, welcome to Horizon Theaters! What movie would you like to see?”

Jazz looked to JiJi, “How about ‘Two Names’?”

JiJi couldn’t afford to look as if she didn’t understand what that meant. So she just expeditiously nodded, focusing more on the box the man had locked himself inside of. Specifically, the desk filled with buttons and the phone clearly playing a cartoon next to a bottle of water and a bag of chips. How did JiJi know what was playing on the phone? Well, he was using the ticket printer to stand the phone up. 

“Two for ‘The man with two names’.” 

Jazz was about to hand the man some cash, before JiJi decided to make up for the silent ride to their date. Her hand stretched out over Jazz, giving the worker a shimmering metal credit card. The worker didn’t really mind; he was 4 hours into an 8-hour shift and had been given dirty, torn bills. Jazz almost purred at this revelation.

“I’ll handle the tickets and popcorn.” JiJi said, “Least I can do since you drove and all.”

“Aw! Aren’t you sweet!” Jazz gave JiJi a quick peck on the cheek and turned to snag the tickets. If she had kept her attention to JiJi, then she would’ve seen a woman with hearts in her eyes and head red like a thermometer. Steam even released out of her ears, which Jazz did feel.

When she turned back to JiJi, the girl was back to normal. Well, normal-looking anyway. She was frantically fanning herself and smiling from ear to ear. Jazz snickered from her throat. 

“You really are a gay disaster.” The car began to move forward, “Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you.”

Still ‘hot’ from earlier, JiJi let her window down as she answered, “I would appreciate that, thank you very much.” 

Jazz laughed, but her eyes barely moved as she did so. She chose to focus on this cute little freshman who was squirming in the passenger seat. An impressionable youngster with great fashion, and a great body. What else could Jazz be looking at?

Luckily, she stopped ogling long enough to park into a slot toward the front. Jazz started to exit her side when she took another look at her date. 

“So, I’ll set up the speakers. You go get us the food?” 

JiJi snapped back to reality, “Oh! Right! The food! Can’t have a movie without food! I love it! He-He!” Three seconds passed with no dialogue. “What kind of Jazz did you want, snack? I mean! Crap! What snacks did-”

Jazz was hitting the top of her roof. Face in her forearm as she couldn’t keep the cackling inside. JiJi took the time to jump from the car to the ground, leaving a glitter trail as she did. 

“I’m sorry! This is my first date and I don’t really know what I’m doing.” 

Jazz spoke up, raising her head to make eye contact. 

“You need a breath, apple-bottom.” She pointed toward the ‘Snack Station’ with multiple small lines. “Just, go get us both medium sodas and one large popcorn to share. By the time you get back, the speakers will be set up, and you’ll be cool and collected. Okay?”

JiJi’s head sunk a little. Like a turtle hiding in its shell. Instead, she just had an expensive hoodie that was zipped up all the way. 

“Okay. I’ll, uh, go get you some sodas and popcorn. I’ll be back in a minute.” JiJi grabbed her phone before awkwardly shifting off. She didn’t notice her shoes leaving glitter imprints as she scurried away. Neither did Jazz being too far to see them in the dark. The next car over did wonder what the screen was reflecting from the ground.

Regardless, JiJi waited in line tapping her foot against the smooth asphalt. She searched her phone for more information on the ‘man with two names’. She knew it sounded familiar but couldn’t place the name. That was until she found the full name and the book it was based on. 

“‘The Man With Two Names, And No Past’,” she said under her breath. Suddenly, it came back to her. She had read the book over a century ago. The details were fuzzy, given how long it had been, but she did remember it being an American Western that stuck out for its character interactions and how it tackled ‘the common man’s perspective’ on political issues. She also thought the man character was cute.

Speaking of six-foot tall men in boots, the person in line to JiJi’s left tapped on her shoulder.

“Excuse me, miss?” He spoke with a rasp in his voice, “You wouldn’t happen to go to Starlight University?” 

JiJi turned to see a man she didn’t recognize but seemed friendly enough. 

“Yes, I’m majoring in ‘Archeology’.” She asked, “ And you are?” 

“Stanley; I’m a physics major. I’m also the guy you disappeared in front of a few days ago.” 

It all came back to her. Stan’s wavy beach blonde hair reaching just past his ears. His light stubble that could be considered a ‘beard’ if he grew it out for another week. The fact that she was a full 12 inches shorter than him. Finally, his square jawline was the final piece of the handsome puzzle. 

“Oh yeah! You’re the super cute guy with the school name on his shirt! I’m JiJi Jinn. Nice to actually meet you. I like your voice!”

Stan stuttered, “Y-yeah. You uh, ok? I know the guard wanted you pretty bad. But the second you vanished, he forgot all about you.”

JiJi’s eyes went wider than dinner plates. Not literally, since that would blow her cover. But this guy remembering the things she wanted him to forget was the last thing Dante would want. Meaning, it was the first thing JiJi had to fix.

Clarifying, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna snitch.”

“Oh thank God!”

“I just wanna know how ya did that. And,” Stan slid his phone out of his pocket, “If you thought I was handsome enough to hang out with later?”

Jinn and Stan traded phones, punching each other's numbers in. JiJi magically finished first and then pretended to type something into his contacts. Stan took a bit longer, noticing the non-existent cell service at the top corner. 

“Is uh, ‘Lamp’ good? I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s an international service,” JiJi half lied. “It works well enough. So here’s the thing: I’m kinda on a date right now. But, we can schedule one after I’m done.” Right before Jiji handed his phone back, she gave a wink. “Sound good?” 

Stan rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled giving Jiji her device. 

“Uh! Yeah, I’d love to. Text me when you can.” 

The cashier called, “Next in line.”

Stan moved on, “Hope your date goes well, Houdini.” 

JiJi, understanding the reference, stuck her tongue out with a smirk. Her foot was no longer tapping. The tightness in her stomach evaporated. Any heat she felt was no longer existent. And then she saw the tall girl behind the counter with freckles and red bangs under a blue hat. 

“Dude, I totally saw the number game!” She gave JiJi a light fist bump. “Nice! So, what can I get you?”

“Yes please!” 

JiJi shamefully buried her red face in her hands as the redhead shamelessly snickered. 

END


	9. Lessons to be learned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dante & Tatiana have their own date night.

“Ah! No!” the woman on the tv screamed. 

Tatiana sat upright on the couch with her feet on the coffee table. Tea had one hand on a mug of tea and her other hand Dante’s hip. Her wife’s head used her thigh as a pillow as they watched the ‘worst horror movie of the year’. 

“Doesn’t the monster ‘see’ through sound?” Dante asked.

The character’s last words before being impaled by a spear-like tongue were, “Get away from me! No! Aggghhh!”

“Yep,” Tea answered watching a gallon of tomato juice and ketchup spew out in place of ‘blood’.

Dante snagged popcorn from the bag as the monster continued its hunt for other scantily clad 20-year-olds. The grain of the film made it a little harder to tell if the bugs on the trees in the foreground were just blips from poor rendering. The wavering sound mixing definitely helped the argument for the latter. Especially since the off-screen character’s heavy breathing was drowned out by the background music. 

“Look at this ugly bastard.” Dante mocked.

“The monster or the guy?” Tea joked as the greasy-haired jock character who left his girlfriend to die not one minute earlier came into frame. 

“The one that waddles when it walks.” Dante took another piece of popcorn. 

The bow-legged jock made a break for the nearby shack. Huffing and tripping over a mudhole as he did. The ‘sound-based’ monster took a full minute to hear the man grunt in pain as he opened the already half-broken door. 

Plainly, “So both of them.”

Dante scoffed, “Not often you see an arrow chasing a bow.”

Tatiana rubbed her wife’s side. This, as planned, got a much bigger smile from the professor after the pun. Like a cat, Dante nuzzled just a little closer to the person petting her. So, Tatiana kept it going. 

“How long before the monster kills this idiot?” Tatiana asked. 

“I give it four minutes.” Dante speculated, “Two minutes minimum.” She ate another piece, “this movie’s pacing is on par with-” 

Before she could finish, the wall shattered as the monster made its kill. The man, currently being stabbed in the chest, let out a scream that could easily be confused for a ten-year-old girl. The actor topped off his character’s death by making his eyes bug out. This made the two women in their 30’s laugh hysterically. Dante gripped at Tatiana’s jeans as Tatiana clapped between inhales. 

They howled and cackled for so long that by the time they started to calm down, the credits had been rolling for a full minute. Neither woman cared. They had more interest in the bag of popcorn that spilled on the floor. 

“I got it,” Dante offered. 

Tatiana felt a little bummed as her wife left her side. But she got a nice view of her wife as a consolation. 

“You and those damn suit pants.” Tea quipped, “God I love ‘em. Even more when they’re off.”

Dante was halfway done picking up the food, “Oh, shut it. Flattery will get you nowhere.”

Tatiana then picked her wife up with ease, spawning a quick yell out of the scholar. Carrying Dante bridal style, Tatiana kissed her neck continuing the laughs. As their eyes met once more, Tatiana was the first to flirt. 

With arrogance, “Are you sure about that, professor?”

With love, “Just take me upstairs already, you dork.” 

-

Sometime the following morning, right as the sun was rising and peeking through the blinds, Dante stirred at a sizzling sound. The distant frying from a skillet. Possibly sausage from the alluring smell.

“Babe?” Dante then looked over at her wife. Her smiling, snoring, satisfied wife. “Oh right,” she smirked.

Dante gingerly left the bed making sure Tatiana kept snuggling the pillow. With her spouse distracted, she went to investigate. Deep down, she knew who it was, but just wanted to say good morning.

A few steps down some stairs and a turn around a corner, and there stood Dante’s ‘student’. A five-foot-tall, brown-haired genie wearing sparkling dhoti pants and her original pink vest. She was cooking, as expected, sausages in a golden skillet. The only thing missing was her smile.

“Jiji?” Dante called. 

Jiji didn’t lookup. She didn’t even fix her hunched posture. She just kept cooking.

“Morning Professor Dante.” Jiji said, “Breakfast will be ready in just a minute.” 

“You don’t have to make me breakfast.” Dante entered the kitchen. “Are you ok?” 

Jiji turned the stove off and started to plate the meat. A regular white plate that Dante had purchased years before. 

“Did you want eggs too?” 

Dante rested her hands on her hips. Her stare unwavered whereas Jiji couldn’t bring her head up. The moment of silence couldn’t have ended sooner for either woman. 

“You don’t have to tell me what happened. But at least tell me if-”

“You were right,” Jiji admitted. She began rubbing her arm as Dante took the plate. It was set to the side and Jiji was given undivided attention.

“Jazz, well, she saw me talking with the girl at the food station. She was kind of flirting with me and I...wasn’t exactly quick to say I was on a date. So, Jazz ditched me.”

“She did what!?” Dante exclaimed, “Wait, so you walked home!?”

“No,” Jinn responded with a muddled tone, “I...teleported. Like, I snapped my fingers. Like I always do. Professor, were you drinking last night?”

Slightly embarrassed, “No, sorry. That was a stupid question.” 

Dante led her friend to sit on the counter. She joined her, rubbing the girl’s back as she explained. 

“Look, kid, I wanted to be wrong about Jazz. But, more importantly, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. The best thing you can do is learn from this, and look at the silver lining.”

“I guess,” Jiji muttered.

Jiji didn’t pick her eyes up. They stayed on the tiles and she had no comments. Her feet didn’t kick and her hands stayed on her lap. Dante couldn’t see the woman’s face under her hair.

Dante knew she had to breakthrough.

“So, what did you enjoy from last night?”

Jiji tilted her head up just a little, “Well, I saw a movie based on a book I liked.” She cranked up just enough for Dante to see her nose. “I saw a movie for the first time in my life. Plus, I got to ride in a car! Like, an actual car! Not the video game cars I did with Tatiana with the shells as weapons and pretty princesses in racing suits.”

Dante ignored her confusion, “Ok, good, what else?” 

“Well,” Jiji continued. Her head lifted with each point. “I got that cute redhead girl’s number so I can go on a date with her. I got a cute blonde boy’s number so I can go on a date with him! I got to drink soda! Which apparently are called ‘fountain drinks’ even though they're from machines and not a fountain. Like, there’s syrup in a bag in a box that goes through a tiny hose and that turns it into a soda.”

“You’re rambling.” 

“Oh right!” Jiji was smiling bright and her hands were in fists at this point. “I got a new outfit! No, two new outfits! Plus, I got to see the actual night sky instead of an illustration! And I kept my powers a secret from everyone! They just thought I was timid! You know what?”

The girl leaped from the counter. She pumped her arms and chanted with all the passion of a cheerleader. Jiji grabbed pom-poms from a shelf filled with forks. 

“Yesterday was awesome~! Yesterday was awesome~! I don’t need Jazz~! Cause yesterday was awesome~!”

Tatiana, partially awake and partially annoyed, was now on the last step. 

“I’m assuming our little girl got laid last night.”

“Nope!” Jiji carelessly tossed the pom-poms away. In one hand was her phone and in the other was a pocket-sized calendar. “But if this ‘Stan’ I’m about to call is available tomorrow,”

“Uh sweetie,” Dante stopped her. “Try taking things a little slower.”

“Oh right! I can’t trust everyone. Lesson learned. Got it!” Jiji then asked, “Should I ask the girl out then?”

Dante pinched the bridge of her nose. Tatiana spotted her morning breakfast.

END


	10. ‘I Just Kissed Stan!’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiji & Dante go to the college. G gets an ID and some revenge.

It was Monday morning. Dante wanted to tell Jiji that Top-Tarts weren’t the best thing to eat for breakfast. A genie bouncing around in her car like a rubber ball would bring the value down. Dante then remembered how Jiji had proven she wasn’t human and kept driving. Dante drove slower than usual, but she got to the university on time. Instead, she had a different inquiry. 

“Do you technically need to eat? Or is this just for the sake of it?”

Jiji finished her treat, “I just like the way food tastes. So creamy!” 

“So not only do you not need food, you can just eat whatever you want and still have a six-pack?” Dante asked. 

“Six-pack of what?”

“Abs.”

“Yep!” Jiji summoned another pack of cookies and creme flavored tarts. “Awesome right?”

Dante thought about the fact that she hadn’t drunk a beer in years, “Awesome.” 

She kept the conversation going despite the task of looking for a spot in a college parking lot. The ‘staff only’ signs helped. 

“Ok, do you know what you’re going to do when you see Jazz?” 

“Turn her into a fish?” Jiji offered.

Dante couldn’t say, “No” fast enough. She left the car running while parked while exclaiming, “No fish! No lizards! No birds! No turning my students into egg-laying animals of any kind!”

Jiji’s lower lip stiffened. Her hopes of revenge were dashed by an anxiety-ridden teacher. A cute teacher, but she was slowly getting over that. 

Dante turned the car off and dug through her purse as she talked. 

“Just, explore the campus while my class is in. See what you like and I’ll come up with a schedule for you.” 

Barrett plucked a blank card in her purse. Next to it was her own ID. A canvas, and as Tatiana explained, a reference.

“Really?” Jiji asked. She moved to pick the blank. But Dante had quick hands.

“I’m trusting you to act like a normal college student. No So don’t let me down.”

Then, and only then, did Dante give Jiji both cards. This was the closest to bouncing around Jinn did. Just sort of vibrating in her seat with an ear to ear grin. 

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!”

Jiji suddenly pressed both cards against the car’s CD player slot. Both stuck out the same way a cd would until the player accepted it.

“Uh, kid, that’s not a-”

The two cards slid inside. They even rotated on their way in. The screen recognized a ‘Jiji Jinn’ as the artist. ‘Starlight University’ as the album. A series of numbers listed as the genre. Finally, this ‘album’ was released ‘20XX’.

If Dante had her brows up any higher, she’d need to be a Jinn like Jiji. 

Worrying about the hundreds of dollars she poured into her car, “Please tell me you didn’t break my radio.”

Her fears subsided when the cards ejected out. Hers, unchanged but cleaner than before. Jiji’s was the most authentic fake ever seen. The photo was just of her bright-eyed smile from three seconds prior. 

Jiji Jinn  
Student   
Birthday: 04/04/20XX   
Year Enrolled: 20XX  
ID: 24601

“Did my gamer wife tell you to do the ‘Twenty-X-X’?” Dante asked.

“You see ‘Twenty-X-X’ cause you’re my mistr-, I mean, ‘lamp owner’. Everyone else will see I’m whatever age I tell them.”

Dante looked at her ID again. It broadcasted to everyone that she was 35.

“I think I know what my second wish is gonna be.”

Two men wearing Starlight varsity shirts cut the interaction short. One did so with a whistle Dante assumed was meant for Jiji. Given her lesbian flag tie. The other flexed as his tongue slipped out of his smiling mouth expelling something that sounded like a grunt. Jiji didn’t know whether to be grossed out or ask if he needed a cough drop. 

Neither noticed the ‘staff parking’ sign until Dante gestured to it. What the boys lacked in decency, they made up for in speed. One of them not even stopping to pick up his sunglasses. 

“Cats?” Jiji suggested.

Not as firm as before, “Still no. Although that would be hilarious.”

The walk onto campus was about as noteworthy as a leaf on the ground. There, but worthy of much attention. What Jiji found to be worth looking at was a familiar face. 

“Professor,” she cuffed Dante’s arm, “that’s him! That’s Stan!”

Dante tilted her new aviator sunglasses down to see who this ‘Stan’ was. A tall, but not a gigantic Caucasian boy who wore a university shirt and jeans. A man whose name was as plain as his clothes. 

“Isn’t he handsome!” Jiji’s pupils were replaced with valentines.

Thankful she didn’t swing that way, “Just don't give him too much information. Or let him see you like this.”

One crack of the neck later and Jiji’s eyes rolled back to normal. Like a slot machine landing on two brown orbs. 

“Definitely don’t do that either.” 

Jiji strutted forward with confidence. This was it. Asking someone out face to face. She didn’t need her phone but became aware of its presence in her pocket. As is the case when your text tone goes off. 

The song was the victory fanfare Jiji heard when kart racing with Tatiana days before. The ID was the last person Jiji wanted to to talk too. Worst of all, she was a few feet away, stepping out of a class.

‘Hi G. On your left.’

G didn’t attempt to hide her “Ugh.” 

“Glad to see you too.” Jazz said with no humor in her voice.

The two looked at one another. One stepping closer and another thinking of animals that don’t lay eggs. Neither had any smiles. 

“I’m in the middle of something. So can you go where you did Friday?”

“Listen,” Jazz put herself between Jiji and her path to someone better. “I’m not happy about what I did. But what you pulled was worse.”

“I didn’t do anything!” G snapped.

“So I imagined you exchanging numbers with someone?”

Jiji wrapped her head around what was just said. She got Stan’s number, and while their dialogue was a bit flirtatious, their movement wasn’t. Or at least, not from where Jazz would’ve been. Her interaction with the ginger who wrote her number on the soda cup, however, had the two people behind Jinn asking them to ‘wrap up their gay meeting’.

“So you ditched me cause the cute redhead gave me her number and a soda?” Jiji asked. ”Like, I would’ve apologized if you had stuck around to say something.”

“I left you cause you’re fake.” Jazz barked. 

Completely serious, “Like your hair?”

The four students who had done a decent job hiding the fact that they were eavesdropping destroyed their cover with loud laughs and calls of ‘oooohhh’. Stan being one of them. 

“Shut up!” 

Jiji continued, “Well it is. Your crooked eyebrows are different colors than-“

“I left when you gave your number to him!” Jazz pointed to Stan. Any and all jeers evaporated. “I don’t date straight girls.”

Jiji stood there slack-jawed. She darted her eyes from Jazz to the individual members of the group. None of them had a proper response to that statement either. 

Her girlfriend for a day didn’t keep talking. This woman didn’t finish the joke. It had to be a joke. A gay person was upset about another gay person not being the same type of gay she was. Where was the punchline?

“I’m...pansexual.” Jiji attempted.

“You’re straight, or you’re gay. There’s no in-between.”

Obviously, that wasn’t true. Jiji knew that wasn’t true. The boys jeering Jazz knew it wasn’t true. Most importantly, Dante was texting her student on what to do about it.

Stan and Jazz’s voices went back and forth. Jazz trying to justify her ignorance. Stan not giving a damn. Jiji heard them both but didn’t absorb either words. She was reading a fairly easy set of instructions. 

“So, Jazz,” Jiji said, putting her phone away, “I’m deciding that you’re not worth my time.” Jazz tried yelling something back, but Jiji was making good on her word. Specifically, making her way toward Stan.

“Mind saying your name one more time?” Jiji asked.

“Uh, Stan.” 

Jiji pulled the man down to her level. She almost ripped his collar making sure Jazz got a good view. A view of what?

Her first kiss. Not that Stan minded. He gave in rather quickly. Much to Jiji’s delight and Jazz’s rage. 

Stan’s only issue was his friends’ cheers. Two of them ‘whooing’. Another cackling at Jazz storming off. The last one was baffled by this girl floating an inch off the ground. Or maybe Stan was just lifting her up a bit. He was the ‘baker’ of the group after all.

Regardless, Dante Barrett held onto this sight for the rest of the day. Made incredibly easier by the snapshot she took and sent to her wife.

The text under the picture read:  
‘Your genie just got to kiss Stan.’

Tatiana gave a simple reply: ‘Would’ve gone for the ‘soda girl’, but he seems nice.’

Three seconds later, Tatiana felt the need to add:   
‘Tell him to lay off the ass grabbing.’

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of arc 2. Please let me know if you’re still enjoying the story. I do take criticism.


	11. Talk About Boring (Arc 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiji gets bored and decides to bug Tatiana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beginning of a new arc. Let me know what you think of the story so far.

Editing video footage could be a very calm task. Tatiana had jazzy background music as she trimmed and placed different bits she had recorded earlier in the day. Properly layering and sizing pictures and text was easy enough. A more draining aspect of her craft included but wasn’t limited to, syncing the previously mentioned music to the footage and moving text.

Creating a sense of stimuli during videos was important. Having multiple videos at the ready was key to stay consistent. It was also crucial not to stare at a computer monitor for extended periods of time. Let alone multiple screens.

“Time to give these legs a good stretch,” Tatiana said to herself.

A miniature, slightly digitized Jiji, poked her head from the corner of the screen, “Who’re you talking to?”  
Tatiana reacted appropriately to this breach with a quick scream.

“What’re ya doin’ on my computer?!”

“Seeing how you edit your videos.” Jiji walked along the latest track like a gymnast on a tightrope. Her voice appeared as a wavelength under her feet. “This all seems pretty tedious.”

“It can be.” Tea answered. She used the cursor to nudge the girl back off-screen, poking her in the side. “Now get out before you ruin my work.”

Upset with the ‘bashing’, “Ow! Stop it! Ow! I’m leaving! I’m leaving! Geez!”

The woman came into the room the way she should’ve the first time. That being, through the door. If she had done this before, then Jiji wouldn’t have been rubbing her aching hip.

“That hurt,” Jiji said pouting.

“Supposed to hurt. It’s called ‘don’t mess with my set’.” Tea took a sip of her sweet tea. “How was school?”

“Got bored so I left.” The spare chair zipped to G on command and turned for her to sit. “Are all human boys bad with conversation?”

Tea handed off a spare mug for Jiji. The two tapping the cups filled up Jiji’s with sweet tea. Like copy and pasting a file.

“Depends on the boy. Also, you shouldn’t walk out on lectures. Quick way to piss off your teacher.”

Jiji leaned back before explaining, “It wasn’t a class. I don’t have any classes yet. Although I’m gonna ask Professor Dante if I can get into the theater class so I can meet that pack of cute girls again. One had blue hair and big-”

Her rambling was interrupted by Tatiana’s less than subtle slurp.

“Ew,” Jiji said. “Anyway, I went to a cafe with this cute guy named Stan.”

“The dude who played happy grab ass when you kissed him?” When Jiji shot a particular glance over her mug, Tatiana confirmed, “Dante shared a pic.”  
Satisfied with the answer, “Yeah him. He started talking about physics and his classes. But he kept talking a lot about physics and it was boring so I left.”

“Like, you just walked off?” Tatiana checked her monitor. The ‘genie track’ was gone so she decided to quickly save her work.

“What? No! I literally just had that happen to me. I’m not a monster!” Jiji drank just a bit and finished answering. “I made a duplicate and he’s been chatting to a ‘doll’ for the last few minutes.”

“Serious?” Barrett asked.

“Yeah! Check this out!” Jiji let her mug go. Instead of falling to the ground as everything else would, it stayed in the air like a glitched video game item. Tatiana was starting to understand why Dante was still unnerved by Jiji’s magic.

The monitor on the right changed from a display of some video game Jiji didn’t care about to what Tatiana could only guess as security footage of a cafe. Just as Jiji said, Stan was sitting in a booth chatting a clone’s ear off. The clone just simply nodded.

“You gave the clone shorter hair?” Tea inquired.

Unimpressed by Stan’s lack of awareness, “Well, he hasn’t noticed.”

Tatiana shrugged, “Yeah but, you shouldn’t just bail on stuff cause it’s boring.”

“Why not?” Jiji pondered. She grabbed her mug from its ‘position’. “He wasn’t asking me any questions. He just kinda started talking and never stopped.”

“Did you tell him he was rambling? And then when he kept talking, you left? Or did you just leave your puppet there without saying a thing?”

Jiji didn’t say a thing and just looked into her cup as she slurped from it.

Tatiana didn’t want to lecture her, so she didn’t. Instead, she gave Jiji a few words.

“Next time something’s boring, try to deal with it before runnin' from it.” Deciding this back and forth qualified as her break, “Now change the channel and runoff. I gotta finish this last bit of the video.”

A question mark appeared over Jiji’s head. “I just watched you finish a fourth video before starting this one!”

“Yeah. Gotta maintain the schedule.” A hand fanning over Jiji turned the question mark into mist. “Now go back to school.”

“Really?” Jiji’s eyes sparkled and the air around her lit up. Her ‘photo filter’ blinded Tatiana. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to help with the videos? Or just to keep you company? Play some games?”

Tatiana squinted and answered before her eyes began to water.

“If you turn off the light show, we can watch a ‘Space Wars’ movie after I’m done.”

When Jiji shouted, “Awesome!”, the light burst, sending confetti everywhere from the floor to the desk. “Oops. One sec.” Two claps later and it was as if nothing happened.

“Cool.” Tatiana nudged her friend’s arm. “Now let me work for a hot minute.”

“One more question?” Jiji waited for Tea to pick her head back up and seize her long sigh. Then, the woman who had been cut off from society for a millennium asked, 

“What’s ‘Space Wars’?”

Tatiana’s hands froze over the keyboard. She was facing her screen but wasn’t really looking at it. Until she saved her work and put her computer to rest, Tatiana couldn’t even look at her. When she did, there was only one thing Tea could say. It came with a low tone and an all-knowing smile.

“This is where the fun begins.”

-

Dante didn’t want this to become a habit. Coming home to the sight of her living room rearranged. But she did. She opened the door to see, not the furniture, but to darkness. The only light coming from a projector and the screen it was showcasing to. She could see the single row of movie theater seats and the two women taking the center. One of which was on the edge of her seat.

Dante shut the door behind her wondering what her two favorite dorks were watching. The familiar buzzing sound effect and one character breathing deeply through mechanical assistance gave her the answer without any visual aid. Her sight was instead set on the popcorn machine that never existed prior to the in-home theater.

“Shouldn’t movie night take place at night?” Dante asked, taking her seat next to Tatiana. They kissed and went back to the film.

“Our friend here didn’t know about the greatest movie ever made.”

“‘Citizen Bane’?” Dante mocked.

Jiji spoke up, beating out Tea’s response.

“Professor, please! I wanna know if Duke wins or not!”

Right back to bouncing in her seat Jiji went watching the hero and villain fight. Neither of her peers said a thing. One sat back and kept watching the film. The other kept an eye on an unknowing genie’s reaction to the upcoming twist.

END


	12. “What’s my motivation?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiji’s first day of college has her a tad distracted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let know if you’re enjoying the story or if you have criticisms.

The first class of Jiji’s first official day was Theater 1. She had to hold back from skipping her way to the door. Thus, two other Starlight students got to see their new ‘transfer student’ jogging her way to a class she wasn’t late for.

“Freshmen,” one joked.

“I am a freshman, thank you.” Jiji cheered. How in the world she heard him from where she was, was a mystery. Well, it was to them.

Jiji got to the door and waltzed in. She expected many things within the room. A stage with scripts at the ready on fancy seats. She imagined framed photos of actors she could learn about. She hoped for a vast assortment of clothes for all kinds of heroes, villains, and common folk. Best of all, smiling faces and a teacher eager to keep them all that way.

What she got, was a lecture room smaller than Dante’s. Two sets of three-row bleachers locked in place against the wall on either side of the door. There were these weird desks that were combined with their seats and drilled into bleachers so they couldn’t be moved.

In the back, opposite of the door, was an open area with a whiteboard as the wall. The carpet was especially dirty by what Jiji could assume to be the teacher’s desk in the corner. Then in the parallel corner, an emergency exit. Nothing blocking that for obvious reasons. The only thing Jiji found entertaining about this classroom was the California state flag, which featured a bear, located above the exit sign. 

“Huh…,” Jiji looked for an open seat. With twenty minutes before class, she didn’t have to travel far. A desk in the back next to a boy with studded bracelets and black nail polish would do. It would be what Dante would suggest. Goth boy notwithstanding.

“Hi.” Jiji greeted. 

The student nodded and barely gave her a smile.

“I’m Jiji. Just transferred here from a,” she pulled the name from the morning briefing with Dante, “Community college.”

Not taking his eyes off of his book, “Welcome to the other side of the tracks.”

Instead of keeping to herself, as he hoped, Jiji took note of the novel. A novel she knew very well.

Jiji decided to ask, “You ever read ‘Dracula’ before?”

“Once in high school. Need something for the monologue next week.”

Jiji’s sudden silence spoke to him.

“Nobody told you that our quizzes are monologue performances?”

Again, Jiji said nothing. This time, she could only fiddle with a strand of hair and look at the scratches on the desk.

“Last week we learned about ‘Jungian Archetypes’. Nothing you can’t search for in 5 minutes. Pick any of them and find something from a book that embodies the one you picked to perform.”

“Awesome! Thanks! Be right back!” Jiji did nothing special for her teleport away. Nobody was watching after all. But, she did leave a man confused with how she left without passing by him. Luckily for Jiji, it was almost nine in the morning and he didn’t really care.

\-   
Inside the library, you could find a stray of students. Some studied at a desk alone. Some with friends. Some making out in the romance section. Jiji hadn’t noticed the last pair since she was surrounded by books. And no one noticed the girl who came into existence by beaming down from a light into an aisle. 

“Now, let’s see.” Jiji ran her fingers past classics like ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Oliver Twist’ as she pondered. “Maybe the ‘explorer’ or ‘orphan’?” She grabbed a copy of ‘Pride & Prejudice’. “Hmmm, ‘lover’?”

“Hardly, we just met.”

To Jiji’s right was a petite woman carrying three books. She stood only four inches taller than Jinn. Meaning they both needed a library stool to reach the second from the top row.

On her face, a pair of browline glasses matching her shoulder-length black hair. On her person, a lightweight v-neck shirt tucked into cargo shorts and high top sneakers. In her mouth, a cherry lollipop. Why did the candy matter? Well, Jiji was clearly looking at her lips and the woman could only guess as to why.

Jiji was standing in front of an attractive woman. As usual for the genie, certain motor functions ceased and/or faltered until further notice. Beginning with her knees tucking just a bit and her palm swiftly moving behind her neck. A pinkie even got tangled in the mass of brown hair.

“Hi~!” Jiji bubbled. “You’re really pretty.”

The woman gestured to Jiji’s sleeveless hoodie, “And you clearly want to show off that you work out.” She blankly asked, “Can I get that copy of ‘Paradise Lost’?” 

“Uh yeah,” Jiji then proceeded to stand there like a plank. “‘Paradise Lost’...definitely took me a few reads to understand,”

The girl did say “Excuse me,” when nudging between Jiji and the shelf to claim her epic poem. She spotted the small pile of glitter behind Jiji’s heels. But, she didn’t feel as though a conversation about the floor would be worth dealing with the blubbering gay jock in front of her.

“Well, hope you find some sleeves before fall starts.”

The girl started to turn away. The banter, if you could call it that, was over. It was time to get ready for a class she tolerated. Or at least, it would’ve been if Jiji hadn’t suddenly appeared in front of her between blinks.

“My name’s Jiji. Uh, Jiji Jinn. You’re really pretty and you seem smart. Would you like to go out on a date?”

The woman twisted her head back and forth like a sprinkler. She didn’t see any way for this person to dash around the shelf in a quarter of a second. Nor a reason for the sudden disappearance of the glitter. What started as, well, startlement, turned into fascination. And then that fascination disintegrated when she processed what Jiji had just asked.

“Well, you haven't asked my name yet. So no.”

“Oh, sorry. What’s your name?” she asked genuinely.

She answered in the same humorless tone, “Alice Higurashi.”

“Hi, Alice.” Jiji smiled, “Would you like to go out on a date?”

“No.”

Slightly disappointed, “Oh, so you like men then?”

Bluntly, “No, I like girls. I just don’t like your approach.” Alice moved past Jiji. “Excuse me.”

Alone and dumbstruck, Jiji tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She scanned around hoping no one else saw her strikeout. A lone blackbird outside the window saw everything. It chirped at Jiji upon eye contact.

Annoyed, “Shut up ‘Tweety’.”

-

Some professors had whiteboards to draw things out. Others used a chalkboard which could be used to annoy students who weren’t paying attention. Dante had a projector. A constantly breaking and malfunctioning projector. 

With class not in session, she did her best to make the ‘error’ go away. Sitting atop a ladder and tapping the buttons she hoped would do the trick, Dante let out a grunt every time nothing happened. Eventually, she had to use the ol reliable for electronics. Turning it off and back on. 

The logo flashed when back on. She hesitantly waited for her laptop screen to appear on the white blackout sheet. As she hoped, it did! A landscape shot of a desert meeting the ocean and the beach connecting them. The middle eastern woman sunbathing in a lawn chair was a new addition.

“Jiji, why aren’t you in class?” 

“I have a question,” Jiji sat upright, crossing her legs and facing Dante. “How do you get a girl to like you?”

“Going to class is a good start,” was the professor’s response. She stayed seated on the ladder during the conversation. “Did you really cut a class just to ask me for dating advice?”

“No~! I would never skip a class!” She confessed, “Although trigonometry seems like it’s gonna be boring. 

Bluntly, “That doesn’t help your case.” 

“Would it help if I said theatre starts in five minutes?”

“No.”

“Damn it.”

As Jiji walked off-screen, and into the ocean, she emerged from behind the sheet. Bumping against the edge and tracking wet sand along the carpet. She dug her pinkie in her ear drilling the remaining sand out. She would’ve heard Dante scream over the loss of her spotless floor if the footprints and trail didn’t disappear within seconds. Jiji was also back in her regular clothes. 

Dante began stepping down, “I don’t want to lecture you. I do enough of that for a living. But I’m not okay with you just teleporting in and out of places.” She passed by the girl heading toward the desk. “You could get caught if you’re not careful.” 

“Don’t worry Professor Dante. Nobody knows about my powers. You want a mature genie? You’ll get a mature genie.” She then bounced on her toes like a child, “Now, can you help me get this girl to go on a date with me?! She’s really pretty and-”

Dante sat on her desk, “She has big boobs?” 

“Nope. She’s about as small as you. But her eyes are just…” Jiji’s hands opened with a pop. Tiny fireworks circled around her extended fingers. The word she had to describe Alice appeared above her head as Jiji boasted, “Wow!”

Dante begrudgingly looked down at her figure for a second. Her eyes shot back up when the ‘wow’ came into existence. Barrett then tried to shield her eyes from the painfully bright floating text. 

“So, how do you know that she isn’t like Jazz?” 

“Well, she’s Asain. Specifically Japanese since her last name is ‘Higurashi’. So I-” 

“No!” Dante needed to keep from laughing as she asked, “I mean, why do you want to ask her out? Did you notice any red flags during your first talk?”

Jiji stopped rocking on her feet. The glow around her settled. The bright ‘wow’ crumbled into a grey ‘well’.

“Well, she likes to read. She’s blunt. She had the cutest pair of shorts. Her hair looked soft. She was pretty quick-witted.” 

“Ok, and her negatives?” Dante investigated.

“She told me to get a hoodie with sleeves before fall came. But she was wearing shorts. Cute shorts, but I could see her legs the same way she could see my arms. They looked really smooth and-” 

“Rambling,” Dante was a little vexed at this point. 

“Oh right! We didn’t talk long enough for any ‘red flags’ to show up.” Jiji rocked from her toes to her heels. “But she made a joke and after that, I just kinda froze. I didn’t know what to say so I just went for it. And then she said she ‘didn’t like my approach’ and walked away.” 

Dante let out a, “Hmm.” And then checked her watch, “Yeah, and what about your class?”

“What class?” Jiji asked. A bell went off above her head with ‘Theater 1’ imprinted on it. 

“I’ll catch you later!”

Pop!

Just like that, Dante was back to being all alone in her classroom. Now with a fixed projector and more time to make calls. As well as more concerns.

End


	13. Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiji meets with Alice inside a cafe and they have another conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For current readers, I renamed GiGi to Jiji.  
> 1: Jiji is an Arabic name so it fits more.  
> 2: Pronunciation is the same.  
> 3: Jiji Jinn is better for alliteration than GiGi Jinn.

“‘Her interest in the mysterious girl was just barely noticeable’,” Alice said aloud. Deleting the sentence, “No, that’s too on the nose.” She looked at her laptop screen and looking back was a writer’s nightmare. A blank document!

The woman had a title and nothing else. Her goals for this story were written on the paper beside her computer. Her stimulation came with a pack of gum she had already chewed a fourth of. Her focus, lost in a field somewhere in the next state over.

Instead, she found a cup of coffee. Presently in the hand of a mysterious girl. Well, it was mysterious how Jiji got in front of Alice without her noticing. 

“Americans like coffee? Right?” Jiji asked sheepishly.

“That’s the stereotype, yes.” Alice accepted the coffee. “And thanks.” 

Alice thought Jiji’s little hop before sitting down was, to be nice, interesting. She thought her being in the cafe was, to be honest, odd. Finally, the nervous smile Jiji had as she grasped her own cup of tea with twiddling fingers was, to be earnest, kind of cute.

If their library interaction hadn’t happened a little under three hours ago, Alice would’ve been more concerned. Instead, she was only a little concerned. 

“So, what’re you doing here? Following me?” 

“Oh no!” Jiji protested, “I got my book and went to take a lot of notes in theater class. Which was weird cause I thought we’d be acting out stuff. You know cause it’s a,” she stopped herself from rambling. “Anyway, then I went to ‘trigonometry’ and that was boring. So I, uh, came here for some tea.”

Jiji tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I saw you in the window. So I wanted to try a different approach in asking you out.” 

Alice looked at Jiji over her glasses. Her poker face broke under a kittenish snicker. Mostly due to Jiji’s timorous chuckle. 

“I know you’re a freshman,” Alice said, “but you should know that cutting class isn’t the best thing to do.”

“I mean, I asked before I left.”

“And the professor was ok with you getting up and leaving in the middle of a seminar?” Alice pried. 

Completely serious, “Nope. I asked the person next to me if he was bored too. So I just left.” 

Alice almost spat out her coffee from laughing. The other patrons either side-eyed or flat out gave her dirty looks. The ones working on assignments anyway. 

“You got guts.” Alice sat her cup down, “I’m gonna assume you know a lot about trig to pull a stunt like that?”

Jiji took a quick sip and explained herself. 

“Well, I grew up reading a lot. So I know I can just read the textbook and get the same information. I mean, it seemed like that’s what the teacher was doing.” 

Alice kept eye contact as the freshman kept talking. Occasionally drinking from her free drink. 

“I mean, he was reading right from the book and only explained when someone asked a question. So I guess, he cares enough about his job if he’s willing to explain. But his voice was so dry! And he took forever to spit out what he was reading. Plus, I didn’t have any questions. Does that make sense?” 

“Yeah.” Higurashi lowered her laptop, “Sounds like you should’ve picked an online class.” 

Jiji’s eyes widened and her voice went up an octave, “That’s a thing?”

Mimicking the woman, “Yes. That’s a thing. You sleeveless lesbian.”

The two laughed for a moment at their exchange before taking in sync sips. Then they both tried to say something. So, neither understood what the other said as they spoke over another. 

“Sorry,” Jiji backed off, “You first.” 

“Thanks,” Alice continued, “So, you from Cali?” 

“Uh...no.” Jiji’s hands hid right under the table and she made sure they stayed there. “I’m uh, kinda, here on a visa of sorts.” 

“Oh, here strictly for school? What’s your major?” 

One word was repeating in Jiji’s mind. From Alice’s point of view, it was written all over her face. It wasn’t a class. It wasn’t a scholarship. It was just a single bead of sweat and a refusal to make eye contact. 

“You haven't picked a major yet?” Alice overturned. 

Jiji tripped over herself to respond, “Yeah, that’s it. I-I haven't picked one of those things yet. Have you?”

Alice adjusted her glasses before answering. Eyes still staring at the lone sweatdrop. That and Jiji was leaning forward just enough for Alice to see a bit of cleavage. She didn’t want to get caught staring.

“I’m a literature major. I’ve been writing since I was a kid out of spite. So I’m getting a degree for it.”

Jiji hooked on the words, “‘Out of spite’? For what? Bad books?”

Alice tipped her cup toward her new friend, “Precisely.” She sipped and fully closed her laptop. “Well, that’s why I started writing. I was about, I wanna say, 12. I would get these book assignments for these bland novels. So instead of doing my book report, I literally just, uhm.”

Alice suddenly looked at the table and bit down. Every now and again, you don’t realize how silly something is until you say it out loud. Her backstory for getting into writing was exactly that. And it was too late to back out of telling this girl she had met that day. 

Her hand on her cheek covered the blush. But Jiji, like anyone, could see the blush on the other side as well. 

“I...uh,” Alice tried, “Would write my own story instead of doing the essay.”

Alice expected a few different reactions. Perhaps an admission of how arrogant that was. A laugh at how lame that mentantily was. Worst, an insincere compliment. 

Jiji, as Alice would soon find out, was never insincere. 

“That’s so cute!” Jiji’s star-eyed response got quite the surprise from Alice. She almost spilled her half-empty cup. 

Jiji moved her half-full cup to the end of the table and continued.

“I would love to pull something like that! Like, someone tells me to do something, and I just go, ‘no, I’m gonna do this instead’!”

Alice simpered, “Kinda like skipping class to go on an improv coffee date?”

Jiji started out stunned, “This is a date?” Then she became delighted, “This is a date?!” 

Higurashi thought for a moment. She left Jinn without an answer, which brought the excited bouncing Jiji was doing to a crawl. Then, Alice spotted her notebook. With a click of her pen and a clean sheet to write on, Jiji now had something else to be jovial about. A phone number.

“How about we call this a proper introduction. And you can call me to set up the actual date?”

The squee noise Jiji released was endearing to Alice but a little annoying to the people behind her. As well as the random sprinkle of glitter next to their feet. 

More importantly, Jiji was delighted to get a date. Alice was curious to see how this mysterious woman would act on a date. And both still had some coffee and tea to finish.

END


End file.
